


On Angel's Wings

by Ronin



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Complete, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-02
Updated: 2010-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-10 08:55:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 98,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/97888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ronin/pseuds/Ronin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Romantic Squinoa fic: As the date of his and Rinoa's wedding approaches, Squall assists his father Laguna in a salvage and retrieval operation of the destroyed Lunar Base, while secretly planning a unique getaway for his honeymoon with Rinoa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _ **On Angel's Wings** _

_   
**On Angel's Wings**   
_

By Ronin-ai

Obligatory disclaimer: I did not create these characters, they belong to Square-Enix. I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter 1: Flight

"Esthar Airstation. This is Ragnarok requesting launch clearance." Squall adjusted the restraints on his seat and checked the instrument panel in front of him, studying the flashing lights and gauges.

"Copy Ragnarok. Systems check." Came the reply.

"Hydraulics. Check." Squall flipped a switch and a hiss was heard as the doors were closed and sealed shut and the interior of the airship pressurized.

"Hull seals. Check. Life support. Check." Squall pressed more buttons, reading the data on the instrument panel and relaying the information he saw.

"Oxygen tanks at full." He said, checking the gauge. That was important. He remembered his first flight in space on the Ragnarok. There had been barely enough oxygen left to get him and Rinoa home.

"Main fuel tanks one and two full. Rocket booster tanks, full. Reserve tanks. Full." He flipped the toggles enabling the booster tanks, knowing he'd need them to fire the rockets to reach escape velocity.

"Forward shields at maximum. Weapons offline." He continued. He didn't need the guns; he was just going on a shakedown run. Squall had brought the Ragnarok to the Airstation for some long overdue repairs and refueling. If the test run went well, he'd take it out into a high orbit. _Outside_ the atmospheric envelope.

"Gravity generator.." Squall flipped a switch briefly and felt the air press down on him. He flipped it off again and the pressure stopped.

"Gravity generator functional, but offline." He said.

Squall continued with the systems checks, testing the directional controls, exterior sensors, communications channels and other vital areas of the airship. It wasn't the newest ship on the planet, and had been neglected in space for seventeen years. Before Squall took it back _up_ there, he wanted to be sure he'd be able to trust it to bring him home.

"Systems checks completed." Squall said, concluding the once-over.

"Copy Ragnarok. Systems functional. All systems are go for launch." The radio replied.

"Copy that. Commencing ignition." Squall flipped another switch and the engines powered up, starting with a whine then gradually increasing to a shriek.

"Ragnarok. You are cleared for launch." Came the response.

Squall increased the throttle and the airship lifted off slowly, hovering while he retracted the landing gear. Then he engaged the rear thrusters and the ship took off.

"Commander Leonhart, take it up to 60,000 meters and perform another systems check." The disembodied voice of the airstation's ground control instructed.

"Copy. Increasing altitude." Squall said, watching as the ship responded to the commands he gave the computer. He checked his airspeed, increasing it to aid in the ship's ascent. He was still flying subsonic however, not needing to go any faster at the moment.

At the 60,000-meter mark, the airstation hailed him again.

"Systems check, Ragnarok." The voice said.

Squall checked all the gauges and quickly read a system status report on the computer.

"All systems green. Status is good." He replied.

"Good. Commander Leonhart, increase speed to mach 1 and increase angle of ascent to forty five degrees."

"Copy." Squall said, doing as instructed. The roar of the engines intensified and Squall was pressed back into his seat as the ship ascended. A countdown was started and Squall listened with increasing excitement as it approached zero.

"Fire main rockets Ragnarok and increase angle of ascent another forty-five degrees."

"Copy that." Squall fired the rockets and the ship leaped forward, the ship's angle now pointing directly toward the ionosphere. It was rapidly approaching escape velocity.

"Ragnarok. Fire rocket boosters now." The radio chattered, and Squall complied. The roar of the engines deepened until the vibrations started to rattle Squall's teeth.

"Rocket boosters firing." Squall confirmed, trying to breathe through the increasing g-forces pressing him into the pilot's seat. The ship automatically performed a roll, presenting her hull to the upper atmosphere as she sliced through the ionosphere and into the exosphere.

Squall felt the change immediately, from pulling crushing g's as the airship accelerated to suddenly feeling no gravity at all. He reached forward and cut the rockets to conserve their fuel.

"Status check, Ragnarok." Came the request from ground control.

Squall quickly checked all his gauges and readouts, and answered, "Status is green. No problems presenting."

"Congratulations on a successful launch, Commander Leonhart." Came the response, and Squall heard whoops and cheers in the background before the connection was severed.

Squall studied the curvature of the blue planet above him with awe. He'd only seen that view of it once before, when he and Rinoa had boarded the Ragnarok after his daring rescue of her in the vastness of space. His fascination with the view then had been overlaid with a very real concern that this would be his _last _view of his home.

They had staved off death for a little while, but Squall, in that moment, was left overwhelmed by the thought that he'd have to attempt to fly a derelict spaceship that had been left abandoned for who knew how many years. He had no idea if it would even work. Fortunately, the comms _did _work, and when he made contact with ground control, he heaved a sigh of relief that they would help in getting the ship safely to the planet below them.

In the years since, Squall had always intended to go back up and take a proper look, but time and circumstance had made it difficult. _This_ time however, he had a perfect pretext. The Ragnarok indeed did need some repairs, very expensive ones. And fuel for an airship of its unique design could only be purchased in Esthar.

The powers that be in Esthar also wanted to have another look up here, and for another reason. They wanted to see what, if anything, was left of the Lunar Base. Ships like the Ragnarok were expensive to produce. There had originally been three made to escort Adel's frozen body into her orbital prison, and two of them had been damaged and destroyed. The Ragnarok alone had survived, adrift in the airless void, seemingly untouched by time.

Another ship, the Valkyrie, had been constructed for President Laguna Loire, and it had the capability to escape the planetary bonds like the Ragnarok did, but its availability was limited. The Lunar Cry had strained Esthar's resources to the point that reconstruction and reclamation of the monster-infested areas had taken precedent, making the building of new spaceships a low priority.

Quite simply, they needed the Ragnarok. And Squall was more than willing to lend them a hand, in return for instruction on how to pilot the dragonship out into space. An added bonus of course was the fact that the ship would have to be repaired and refitted to make it safe for such an endeavor.

Squall knew that eventually he'd have to direct the ship toward the last known coordinates of the Lunar Base and report on his findings. At the moment however, he was content to simply drift in the velvety darkness and enjoy the sight of the blue vista that spread above the clear canopy of the cockpit. He had yet to engage the gravity generator, and he'd delayed that action for a specific reason.

Deciding now was the time for that reason, Squall unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat and immediately drifted upwards, weightless. When the Ragnarok had left the planetary atmosphere, it had rotated, presenting its hull to space, the canopy directed downward toward the planet below them. It now floated in a high orbit, for all intents and purposes, upside down, oriented such that the planet appeared to be _above_ it.

The weightlessness of space made it easy to become disoriented and lose all sense of what was _up_ and what was _down_. Motion sickness as a result of that was a possibility. Maneuvering under those circumstances also presented a challenge.

Squall wanted, no _needed,_ to make himself comfortable in such an environment in order for his plan to work.

So he drifted, flew and tried with varying success to move about the ship without the benefit of gravity to work with. He fetched up against the hull several times, earning bumps and bruises for his efforts, developed a wicked headache and an even worse case of nausea. Eventually that all subsided, and Squall simply drifted, staring raptly at the planet once again, lost in his thoughts.

_Kind of an extreme means of getting time to myself, _he thought with amusement. But essentially that was the exact reason that he had done this. He needed that time alone to decompress. Finding that time at home was becoming increasingly difficult as news of his and Rinoa's upcoming nuptials was spread abroad.

If they had been any other ordinary couple, there wouldn't have been such intense interest. But, as children of the two most powerful leaders in the world, it was an event of great magnitude for a great many people.

General Caraway was still acting leader of Galbadia, at least until the general election, Galbadia's first, to be held next November. For the next year at least, he was still in command of the country. Laguna Loire was still president of Esthar and that country didn't seem much inclined to attempt to elect another leader, at least not that Squall had seen. Laguna _had_ been trying to convince the council that it would be in their best interests, but his efforts so far hadn't yielded much success.

Aside from their familial connections, which certainly contributed to the interest, there was Squall and Rinoa themselves. Squall, the young SeeD commander, leader of the team that battled and defeated the Sorceress Ultimecia and Rinoa, the brave, beautiful freedom fighter that had helped in that battle. It was a fairy-tale, come to life, and the news media played it up to the hilt. The public devoured it and clamored for more. Fortunately for Squall and Rinoa, one small detail had mostly escaped the press.

Rinoa was a sorceress herself. It hadn't _entirely_ escaped; Squall and Laguna had both had to take some rather drastic measures to ensure that what little of that information that did leak out of Esthar, was discounted as rumor and hearsay. By downplaying _that_ aspect of Rinoa's contribution to the fight against Ultimecia, they had done their best to protect her from those whose opinion of sorceresses considered the only good one to be a dead one.

Squall had been more than willing to embark upon a campaign to _permanently_ silence those who'd talked about Rinoa's status as a sorceress, but Laguna had dissuaded him from that somewhat extreme action, instead releasing misinformation and engineering wild rumors to discredit those who spoke too openly about Rinoa's abilities. It went against the grain for the former journalist to do that, but he understood completely Squall's position. Having the life of his wife-to-be under constant threat was enough to turn the young mercenary murderous in his zeal to protect her.

While Laguna understood what Squall did for a living, there were limits, and he would not allow his son to go down the path that he'd been considering, so he offered an alternative that they all could live with. Squall, for his part gratefully bowed in this case to his father's wisdom, himself not at all comfortable with the thought of what he might have to do to protect Rinoa and the possible cost not only to _his _soul, but to hers as well.

One thing for certain, Squall could not give in to his fears for her. The most heinous evils in the world were committed by those consumed by fear. It was the driving force behind both of the Sorceress Wars that had occurred in recent memory. Adel's fear of dying without a successor had lead to the Sorceress War that had played a part in Squall's very existence. Ultimecia, whose goal of time compression could be considered a response to her fear of death, had instigated the most recent Sorceress War. So, no, his life could not, _would_ not be consumed by fear.

But it was hard sometimes when the memories of what _could_ have happened in Centra still haunted him. Having Rinoa's life threatened by a terrorist was just about the final straw for Squall, and it had taken a lot of talking on Laguna's part to convince him _not _to go on a bloody rampage to make sure it never happened again. It would have been a disaster, not just for SeeD but also for himself and Rinoa as well.

Having the SeeD Commander suddenly go rogue would not have solved his particular problem, and fortunately, sense won out over rage.

But there was still a cold, ruthless part of him that made damn sure he knew as much about any potential threat as possible. And it was poised to strike at a moment's notice if expedient action was called for. Squall Leonhart, if threatened, could make a very, _very_ dangerous enemy.

_Keep your friends close, _Squall thought, _and your enemies closer._ Then he shook himself out of the grim trend his thoughts had taken. He hadn't come up here to brood. Not entirely at any rate.

Aside from checking on what was left of the Lunar Base, Squall had another purpose for this trip. While he didn't consider himself to be the most romantic or creative guy around, given a chance, he could on occasion be…_unique_.

And what could be more unique, or _private_, than a honeymoon spent several _thousand_ miles above the planet?

With that thought in mind, he wanted to go back up into orbit and get a feel for what it would be like, and if what he had in mind would even _work_. His conclusion after maneuvering around the Ragnarok in zero gravity was…. Maybe. But the mechanics would be tricky. And the physiological effects of zero gravity would add to the challenge. It would be much easier, not to mention more comfortable, to simply engage the gravity generators and avoid needless complications. Still, a wicked thought intruded into his mind, it could be fun to _try_…. and Squall was definitely up for the challenge.

He remembered when he and Rinoa were being guided down by ground control after he'd managed to get them both onto the Ragnarok and kill those pesky monsters that had infested it. During the moments that the ship cruised on remote guidance, Rinoa had insisted on sitting in his lap nearly the entire time.

As he held her there, lightly, he slowly began to admit to himself that he _did_ like her being there. The feel of another body so close to him, at first uncomfortable, eventually awakened a buried longing that he'd almost forgotten. By this point he'd already acknowledged to himself that he loved her. What the hell he was supposed to _do_ about it however, he hadn't figured out yet.

The conversation they'd had included his admission that he'd held himself apart from people for fear of growing close to them only to have them taken from him, like his sis Ellone. And Rinoa's response had been, "you've missed out on all the good things in life." It had taken him a long time to truly understand what that had meant.

He understood it now. The fear of losing a loved one had kept him from learning how to love someone else. Focusing too much on the past had nearly crippled his chance at a future.

His gaze strayed to the empty co-pilot's chair where Rinoa had sat as they approached Esthar. He remembered how she'd sobbed hopelessly after admitting to him that she had become a sorceress, and was now going to be entombed in a living death like Adel, in order to keep the world safe from her "evil".

She told him, knowing that he was a SeeD. Knowing that his _job _was to kill sorceresses. And fearing that he would have to kill her too. It was too much for him, watching her, helpless to do anything about their circumstances …. or so he'd thought. His heart cracked, and for the first time in his life he reached out to someone; _he_ reached out to _her_ and held her tight as they descended to the earth, blinking tears from his eyes the whole time. Rinoa never knew that, he'd never told her.

But it was here, in the Ragnarok, as they were descending back to the surface, that Squall had at long last, began his first, tentative steps toward…. Life. Or at least, a reason for _wanting_ it; a barely defined longing to learn about all of those good things that Rinoa said he'd missed out on. Everything that he did from that point on had been with that as its final goal. It had all been for her, as well as for himself.

It was reason enough for him to consider this place, and the view it offered, to be special.

The radio crackled as a voice from ground control hailed him, "Commander Leonhart, your gravity generator has not been activated yet. Is it functioning?"

Squall made his way over to the control panel and thumbed the comms switch to on, replying, "Activating now." Then he switched on the gravity generator and braced himself as he drifted downward. Fortunately, one of the repairs to the ship had included an upgrade of the gravity generator, a minor adjustment that made it come on gradually, rather than an abrupt switch from zero to normal gravity with no warning in between. So, no more crashing to the deck when the gravity came on.

"Gravity generator is functioning." He reported.

"Good. Activate external cameras, and navigate to these coordinates." Ground control instructed, giving him the codes to enter into the computer. After he entered the codes, he sat back down into the pilot's seat and strapped in. The directional thrusters fired and the Ragnarok began to move toward the last known location of the Lunar Base.

"Squall, activate internal cameras as well, please?" a different, familiar voice requested.

Squall frowned, asking, "Why?"

"We want to see you up there son, that's why." Laguna answered.

Squall rolled his eyes at this, and responded dryly, "Is that an order, Mr. President?"

"It can be." Came the response.

Squall sighed, "fine." That irritated him. There was no reason to film him sitting in a pilot's chair, typing in commands. How exciting and interesting could that possibly be? And if it was being transmitted live to the news, he'd have to hurt someone.

He flipped the toggle to activate the internal cameras, and as he did, a video screen rose from the back of the control panel. As it did, the screen came on, showing his father, Laguna, in the control room at the Esthar Airstation, with Rinoa standing next to him. He smiled slightly at her, and she smiled and waved back.

_That's new. _He thought, studying the screen.

"Looking good son!" Laguna said enthusiastically. Squall frowned at him.

"And I'm sure the world is _riveted_ by how deftly I can type commands on the navigation computer." Squall said sarcastically. Rinoa stifled a laugh and Laguna gave him a shocked look.

"Was that sarcasm? From _him_?" Laguna asked her, gesturing toward him on the screen. Rinoa nodded, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Sarcasm? I have no idea what you're talking about." Squall said blandly. A beep indicated that he'd reached the coordinates he'd keyed into the computer.

"I've reached the last known location of the Lunar Base," Squall reported, switching back to the job at hand.

"Activate data transfer." Laguna said, suddenly looking sad. Squall initiated a live feed from the external cameras to the airstation, sending the data gathered directly to their video screens.

Then, he looked up from the video screen and the control panel he'd been working on, and froze, stunned at the sight.

"Holy Hyne," he whispered, forgetting that he was being filmed. He unbuckled his restraints again and got up from his seat, walking toward the window and the awesome, terrible result of the Lunar Cry's direct hit upon the Lunar Base that it displayed.

There was nothing but wreckage. Virtually nothing left to salvage.

"Squall?" Came Laguna's voice.

"Are you seeing this?" He asked.

"Yes. Put it on screen son, and enhance magnification." Laguna said heavily.

Squall did as requested and frowned, sitting back down in the pilot's seat and studying the video screen closely as the feed from ground control was replaced by what the external cameras were recording.

"There are still bodies up here." He observed. He counted them. Four. He hoped there weren't any others. He already knew, or _thought_ he knew, what Laguna was going to want next, and he was already thinking about the safest means of retrieving those bodies.

"Yes." The pain in Laguna's voice was palpable. He'd known these people and worked with them for years.

"Do you know who they are?" Squall asked.

"We have a list of those who were unaccounted for." Laguna responded.

"I'll have to do an EVA to get them." Squall said.

"Squall, don't. It's too dangerous. Save it for another trip. I'll get some techs together to go with you, and they'll do the retrieval." Laguna said.

"I can do this." Squall said.

"Not alone you can't. Trust me on this." Laguna said firmly.

Squall was readying another argument when the screen suddenly shifted from its current image back to the airstation's control room.

"Squall, please." Rinoa said, looking worried. "Let the techs do it. They know how."

He frowned, "I know how to do it too. I'm already here, all I need is a tether to hook to my suit and I can bring them back."

"I know you can, you saved _me_ that way, and _without_ a tether. But this isn't an urgent, life or death need. You don't have to risk yourself for this. I'd much rather have _you_ come back." Rinoa said. Squall shrugged. She was right. The retrieval would go much more smoothly with some advance planning, and common sense dictated that more than one person would need to be involved for safety's sake. Otherwise, the risk of adding one more body to those unfortunate casualties was much too high.

"Alright," he agreed. Rinoa gave a sigh of relief, and Laguna's stern, worried expression eased.

Then Laguna requested, "Squall, maneuver the ship a little farther into the debris field. We need to get an idea of what, if anything is salvageable and if there are any more bodies besides the ones we've seen so far."

"Copy that." Squall said, typing in the commands.

The ship cruised through the area, and Squall panned the cameras around, recording everything that he could. They located two more bodies, bringing the total still floating in space to six. Squall swept the area one more time, before Laguna called him back.

"That's good enough son, we've got more than enough information to work with now. Come on back down." Laguna said.

Squall nodded, "Okay. I'll start performing the systems checks." He spent the next few moments typing away at the control panel, reading off the status of the various systems that were vital to the operation of the Ragnarok.

A sudden giggle brought Squall's attention back to the video screen to see Rinoa, eyes sparkling with amusement.

He frowned at her image, puzzled, and asked, "What?"

"You were right Squall, this _is _the most exciting and riveting television program _ever_! The speed of your typing, the blank look of concentration on your face, it's truly inspiring." Rinoa said, giggling again. Squall snorted.

"Sarcasm? From _you_ Rinoa? Where did _that_ come from?" he said, fighting a grin.

"I learned from the best." She smiled.

"Okay, that's it. I'm killing Seifer as soon as I get back to Balamb." He said in mock anger. Rinoa gulped for a moment before she saw the glint in his eyes that meant he was joking. Sometimes with Squall, it was hard to tell if he was serious or not.

"I didn't learn from _him_, I learned from _you_!" she laughed.

"I'm _sure_ I don't know what you mean, Rinoa," he said, deadpan. Laguna watched, fascinated as Rinoa continued joking and teasing him, trying to get him to laugh or even crack a smile. He grinned as he saw Squall's lips twitching after she told him a really stupid joke.

"That's not going to work," he said, eyes sparkling but otherwise still blank-faced, "I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to happen."

Rinoa pouted, "why not?"

"Do you know what it would do to my reputation if I was caught laughing _on camera_? My whole life's work cultivating my image, gone. Is that what you want?" he asked with mock severity.

"Yes." She grinned at him.

He shook his head, "not gonna happen." Laguna, grinning wickedly, suddenly whispered something into Rinoa's ear. She burst out laughing.

"You're not allowed to help, Laguna!" Squall said, glowering at the image. Laguna shrugged, looking innocent.

"Meanie!" Rinoa said, pouting.

Squall couldn't help it, she looked so cute when she did that, he had to laugh.

"Okay, you win this round Rinoa." He grinned, then he lowered his voice and gave her an intense look, "But you're in trouble when I get home."

She smiled and said seductively, "I can't wait." Laguna, standing behind her with his arms crossed, chuckled at the exchange, shaking his head.

The image began to break up and Squall checked his status screen.

"I'm going to be hitting re-entry pretty soon, so I'm shutting the cameras down. I'll see you both in a few minutes." Squall said, turning off both the internal and the external cameras.

Then the ship shuddered as it penetrated the atmospheric envelope and the hull began to heat up. Squall was kept busy checking the ship's status and correcting the angle of entry so that the reinforced hull absorbed the friction heat. He watched his readouts carefully and then cut in the main rockets.

The dragonship screamed through the ionosphere, descending gradually through the atmospheric layers and leaving a thunderclap behind it as it punched through the denser air of the planet toward the upper stratosphere. As the ship approached Esthar, Squall throttled back and cruised in an easy angle of descent, aiming for the landing pad atop the airstation.


	2. Afterburn

Chapter 2: Afterburn

 

 

 

 

 

Squall settled the Ragnarok gently onto the landing pad and began shutting down the engines. As they cycled down, the boarding ramp hissed as it extended out and down, and he released his seat restraints and began to leave the ship.

 

As he walked down the ramp, technicians from the airstation passed him, heading into the ship to go over it once more, double-checking for anything that might need attention after re-entry and landing.

 

The afternoon sun slanted down across the landing platform, the blinding light and searing heat characteristic of Esthar's desert climate. Squall squinted against the glare; then he fished a pair of sunglasses out of the breast pocket of the lightweight shirt he was wearing and put them on. He blinked spots from his eyes as he waited for them to adjust.

 

Early spring in Esthar was hotter than full summer in Balamb, and as often as he'd come here, Squall still hadn't gotten used to it. Not entirely. Still, after two and a half years, he could at least tolerate it. He didn't think he could ever live here though. It was a different story for his father however.

 

Laguna was Galbadian born, and the climate there, while not as hot as Esthar's, was still warmer than Balamb's, and it had been consequently easier for Laguna to adapt. Not only that, the man had lived in Esthar for nearly twenty years, so while Squall found the heat oppressive, Laguna seemed unaffected.

 

He walked toward the entrance to the airstation and was greeted by Rinoa running up and leaping into his arms, hugging him enthusiastically. Laguna followed more slowly, smiling wistfully at the sight.

 

Squall braced himself against the impact and hugged her back, laughing, "Why do you always do that? One of these days you'll knock me flat."

 

"Because you're such a stud I know you'll catch me. You'd never let me fall." Rinoa smiled, kissing him. Squall kissed her back, holding her tightly.

 

"No," He replied softly, "I won't." Not ever, he thought. He gazed down at her, smiling. She'd worn a silky, fluttery sundress in a shimmering sky blue color, and looked every bit the angel he considered her to be.

 

"I swear you get taller every time I see you." Laguna commented as he approached. It was true. Once nearly at an even height with his father, Squall had now surpassed him, surprising them both. He didn't quite tower over his father, but did top him by at least an inch.

 

Stepping away from Rinoa, Squall extended his hand to greet his father with a handshake and instead was pulled into a hug. Laguna had finally figured out that with Squall, sometimes he just had to take the initiative. Squall was slowly getting used to his father's effusive affection and while still not completely comfortable with it, didn't actually dislike it.

 

"Apparently, I hadn't quite finished growing at seventeen. According to Dr. Kadowaki, this could keep up until I'm twenty-one." Squall said ruefully, stepping back and reclaiming Rinoa by draping his arm around her, then turning to walk with both her and Laguna to the airstation control room.

 

"Wow. Another year and a half growing? It would be interesting to see where you end up when you're finally done with it. So far, it looks like it's all gone to your legs." Laguna commented, studying him. Squall did indeed look a little leggier than he remembered, although it appeared that he had fortunately avoided the corresponding awkwardness that tended to follow, still moving with his customary grace. As Laguna was a little ahead of them, he politely opened the door to the airstation and allowed Squall and Rinoa to precede him.

 

 

Rinoa laughed slightly, saying, "Squall finds it a little frustrating though, trying to keep up with it. He always has to either buy new clothes or send them off to be altered. And did I mention? He hates clothes shopping."

 

"With a passion." Squall confirmed, taking off his sunglasses once they'd entered the building and putting them back into his breast pocket. He sighed in relief as the temperature dropped to a comfortable level. The building was obviously air-conditioned.

 

"Well, that explains your lack of imagination with regards to your wardrobe." Laguna grinned.

 

Squall glared at him, "Don't start. It's not like you do any better. I swear that's the exact same outfit I saw you in the first time I came to Esthar."

 

Laguna chuckled, "Guilty. I was dressing for comfort today son. You already know I can dress to impress when I want to."

 

"Same here." Squall said.

 

Laguna clapped his hand on his son's shoulder and invited, "why don't you and Rinoa come by for dinner tonight? I'll give Elle a call and see if she can make it too."

 

Squall looked down at Rinoa inquiringly, and when she nodded and smiled, he answered, "Okay. Dinner then." He turned to leave when a familiar, accented voice hailed him.

 

"Vait! Kommander Leonhart! I must speak viss you!" A glance toward the control room showed the diminutive form of Dr. Odine making his way toward them. Squall clenched his teeth in irritation.

 

Then he growled deep in his throat and turned to his father, saying, "I'm not talking with that man." He began to leave, ignoring the little scientist's imperious summons.

 

Laguna frowned, "Squall, he just wants a mission briefing." He knew Squall had actively hated Dr. Odine from their first meeting, and at first, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Not until Ellone had told him about what she'd been trying to do while Squall had been on his quest to defeat Ultimecia. When he'd learned that Squall had actually been present in his mind at the moment that he'd rescued Ellone from Dr. Odine's lab, a lot of things he'd experienced suddenly made sense. Including the surge of white-hot rage that seemed to come out of nowhere when he'd found Ellone. Laguna himself disliked the little man, but he had his uses.

 

"I'll send him a report. Everything he needs is already in the video feed anyway." Squall said flatly, still heading for the door. He suddenly found his way blocked by the scientist, who'd moved with surprising speed to intercept him

 

"Kommander Leonhart. Ve must haff a briefing. Vat vas left of ze Lunar Base?" Dr. Odine asked, wringing his hands. Squall glared down at him, clenching his fists to avoid wrapping them around the man's scrawny neck.

 

"Wreckage. Six bodies. Its all on the video feed." Squall answered tersely, moving to go around Dr. Odine. His progress was blocked once more as Odine again stepped into his path, the look in his eyes suddenly making Squall's flesh crawl.

 

"Ze Sorceress, she iz vell?" he asked, studying Rinoa as though she were an especially interesting specimen in his lab. Squall didn't like the look in his eyes; it was both acquisitive and speculative. Rinoa gave him a worried look as she felt Squall's muscles tense, anger beginning to stir in his heart.

 

"Her name is Rinoa. Just Rinoa." Squall growled. He didn't know what the little bastard wanted, but he was getting on Squall's last nerve. If he didn't clear the path and leave him alone, the remainder of the man's life would be counted in seconds.

 

"Ja. Und she iz a sorceress. You are her knight, ja?" Dr. Odine asked, studying Squall intently. Squall glared stonily at him, silent.

 

"Ze sorceress, she must haff a knight. It iz gut zhat you vill be marrying her. It iz ezzential for her stability. It iz also gut zhat you are both young. It vill be interesting to zee if ziz young sorceress can have children. Zhey usually cannot. You must tell Odine immediately of ze sorceress becomes pregnant." Odine said, his attitude again imperious. Without warning, Squall's hand shot out and seized the little madman by the throat.

 

Rinoa gasped and Laguna hurried over, as Squall snarled coldly, "You will not speak of her in that manner. If you want to live, you will leave her alone." Odine's eyes widened as Squall's grip tightened.

 

Then Laguna was there, gripping his arm with surprising strength, trying to pull him back. Rinoa held his other arm, eyes pleading for him to stop. He released the scientist and dropped his arm, shaking Laguna off with a glare.

 

"Squall…" Laguna began, then stopped as Squall turned and left, gently ushering Rinoa out. It was interesting to note that as angry and apparently out of control as he'd appeared; he was always gentle with Rinoa. He couldn't fault his son for his protective attitude, particularly around Odine. He did wish however that he didn't have to worry about Squall attempting to kill the little man every time they met. It was one of the few times that his son didn't appear to be in control of himself. But Laguna knew it went deeper than that.

 

It wasn't just what Odine had done to Ellone, which had been bad enough. It was also Odine's involvement in nearly imprisoning Rinoa in cryostasis like Sorceress Adel. It was fortunate that Squall understood that it had not been done with Laguna's knowledge, and indeed, when Squall had gone to rescue her from the sorceress memorial, Laguna had sent Ward to help.

 

"He iz very strong, your son." Dr. Odine said, rubbing at his throat. The young knight had nearly strangled him with his bare hands, and Odine for one was impressed at his strength. A sorceress as strong as Rinoa needed an equally strong knight. It would be very interesting to see what developed from their marriage.

 

"You have no idea." Laguna said.

 

 

***

 

 

Squall was headed toward the outer doors of the airstation before he noticed the crowd of news reporters and photographers gathered outside. Grimacing in irritation, he altered his direction toward the exit Laguna preferred, which went through the grav-tubes directly to the palace, thereby bypassing the gauntlet of media representatives.

 

Seating himself on the ottoman-like device, he pulled Rinoa close and kissed the side of her head, saying softly, "I'm sorry." She remained silent as he gave the verbal command for the unit to transport them to the presidential residence, and Squall glanced over at her, concerned.

 

As the force field activated and they began to move, Rinoa leaned her head against Squall's shoulder and sighed, "It's okay."

 

"He bothers me. I know what he's capable of, and I don't like him thinking about you and your status as a sorceress." Squall said. The way that Odine had studied him and Rinoa like prized bloodstock had given him the creeps.

 

"You can't take on everyone Squall, it's just not possible." Rinoa reasoned.

 

Squall tightened his arm around her and whispered, "I can try."

 

"You don't have to. Look, I know you'll die for me, that's a given. But, and this is much more important, can you live for me?" Rinoa asked, gazing up at him earnestly.

 

Squall returned her regard, silent. The easy answer to that was yes, of course. But before he responded, he took a moment to really ponder what she meant when she'd asked him that question.

 

Can you live for me? Could he? His commitment to her in the form of marriage certainly argued that he was at least willing to try. He'd already handed her his heart without reservation, and while he still struggled with his inner fears, they came up less and less.

 

But what did that actually mean, to live for someone? To avoid undue risk that would potentially take him from her? Risk was part of his job, even as Commander it wasn't possible to completely avoid it, and it wasn't in his nature to avoid risk. He also knew that she wouldn't ask him to change such a fundamental part of who he was.

 

Did it mean putting her first in all aspects of his life? He winced inwardly at that, knowing that sometimes he didn't do that. Sometimes he got buried in work and Rinoa came out a poor second on his list of priorities. She was far more patient and understanding than he deserved, in his opinion, but she did get angry and frustrated with him on those occasions when he got overly focused on work.

 

Finally he concluded that it meant, at least in part, that he needed to be present, aware and engaged with her. In short, he needed, as much as possible, to pay attention to her. That wouldn't be too difficult. For the most part she fascinated him, still, even after more than two years. He didn't think that time would dim that fascination for him either. There was far too much still to learn from her and about her.

 

 

Rinoa watched him as his silence continued, aware that he was thinking hard and remaining quiet to allow him that time. They traveled together through the transport tube, the bright desert sunshine muted by the amber tint of the material it was made from. She'd asked Squall once what that material actually was, since it wasn't glass, despite its clarity. He'd told her but she forgot the name he gave it now, flexi-glass or something like that. She'd never seen anything like it before.

 

She smiled softly to herself as she recalled Squall's fascination with Esthar, despite his complaints about the heat. He truly seemed to enjoy exploring the city and its environs, and when they visited there, she could count on him spending the evenings out on the balcony of their rooms, watching the desert sun dying in its usual fiery splendor. She had to admit the shifting colors of the sunset, picked up and reflected by the glittering cityscape, was incredibly beautiful, and she loved sharing that with Squall.

 

He'd told her more than once that it was too hot for him to live there comfortably, but Rinoa thought that he'd be able to adapt far more handily than he thought he could. Having his family nearby would undoubtedly help.

 

Squall glanced over to Rinoa and smiled gently, lacing his fingers through hers and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

 

"So?" Rinoa asked curiously, "any conclusions?"

 

Squall nodded and in the infuriatingly enigmatic way he had about him, replied, "some."

 

"Squall.." Rinoa began with a warning tone in her voice. She knew he subtly teasing her, but she wasn't going to allow him to dodge the question entirely.

 

His smile broadened and he said, "I'll tell you when we get to our rooms." Rinoa knew she wasn't going to get anything further from him until he was ready, so satisfied her frustration with a sharp poke in his ribs instead. Instead of a fierce frown however, Squall gave her a quiet chuckle in response.

 

They arrived at the presidential residence just moments later and strolled toward their rooms, arm in arm. They used the same suite of rooms each time they visited Esthar, to the point that it was almost a second home to them. Certainly, it was Laguna's hope that Squall would feel comfortable enough to visit frequently.

 

Upon reaching the suite, Squall opened the double doors and preceded Rinoa into the room, raking it with a quick glance before circling back around her and closing and locking the doors behind her. With Squall, there was comfortable, and there was careful. Even in a country as apparently stable as Esthar, Squall left nothing to chance. Rinoa knew better than to comment on it, this behavior was second nature to him.

 

Walking past her again, Squall claimed her hand and led her toward the glass doors that opened onto the balcony, smiling at her. Rinoa smiled back as they exited back out into the breathless heat of the dying day. For a moment, they simply watched the evening lightshow painting brilliant gold and rose over the glittering city.

 

Then he turned his back on the spectacular vista and leaned against the balcony, smiling at her. Rinoa caught her breath and smiled back, appreciating as always how handsome he was. He'd worn a simple, lightweight white cotton shirt and black jeans, stubbornly refusing to wear the g-suit that the technicians had recommended for his flight that morning ("A jumpsuit? Are you kidding? No."). Two and a half years had changed him in a lot of ways, the physical growth he was still experiencing just a small part of it. His increased height, longer legs and broader shoulders were the obvious signs of that growth. The soft, almost girl-pretty face he'd had as a seventeen year old had become more angular and masculine as he approached twenty.

 

Less obvious was the emotional growth he'd undergone. While still not easy to befriend, he had at least allowed some people to grow closer to him, far more than Rinoa had thought he would. At its core was his relationship with her, which appeared to have grown and matured along with them both. Then there was the fact that upon finding not only his long-lost and nearly forgotten adoptive sister Ellone, he also found a father he never even knew existed and managed a relationship with them both. That was nothing short of amazing, and while Squall's relationship with Laguna was still prickly at times, there was an underlying affection that grew more and more pronounced as time went by.

 

"So," Squall began, "you asked me a question earlier. Could I live for you? To a certain extent, I already do. Everything that I am and everything that I do is either for or because of you. I battled Ultimecia and saved everyone chiefly to save you from her. I became a hero mainly by accident because of that."

 

Rinoa smiled at that, knowing there was more to it than his opinion of his actions of two and a half years ago. But she acknowledged that his love for her had played a significant part in his motivation.

 

He approached her then, and slid his hands around her waist, pulling her to him.

 

Gazing down at her, he continued softly, "I suspect I'll spend the rest of my life trying to figure out the rest of it. As long as you're with me, I'll have a reason to keep trying."

 

He bent down then and kissed her, tightening his arms around her and pressing her close. His hands trailed up her back, feeling the warmth of skin beneath the thin silken fabric of Rinoa's dress. He trailed feathery light kisses down the side of her neck to the notch where it met her shoulder, smiling at Rinoa's shiver as he lightly brushed aside the strap to her dress.

 

"I'm really tempted right now to just forget dinner and go straight to bed," Squall whispered, kissing her shoulder, then nipping at it. The feel of his teeth lightly scraping at her skin sent heat straight to Rinoa's core, and she shivered again, this time in arousal.

 

She caught her breath, then laughed softly, "You forget, they eat dinner here rather late. We've got more than an hour to ourselves before your dad will come looking for us."

 

Squall paused, and then smiled slowly, "You think an hour will be long enough?"

 

Rinoa laughed, "Maybe. But I'm sure your father will understand if we're late."

 

Squall smiled silently in reply, not bothering to hide the desire in his eyes. He kissed her again, deeply, hungrily, smoothing his hands down her back again and cupping her backside, pressing her close against his evident excitement. Rinoa trailed her hands up over Squall's shoulders and up into his hair, closing her eyes and moaning softly as Squall left off kissing her lips and concentrated on her neck again, kissing, nipping and teasing the sensitive skin there.

 

Rinoa felt herself melting into a searing hot puddle of thrumming nerve endings as the breathless heat of the day's end left them both panting and sweaty. They could go into the air-conditioned coolness of their room, but they were both caught up in the moment. It was way hotter, both literally and figuratively, to make love right out on the balcony in the deepening twilight.

 

She trailed her fingers down the front of Squall's shirt and started unbuttoning it, while he slowly drew down the zipper at the back of her dress. The bodice loosened, but mostly stayed in place, still supported by the thin straps of the dress. Meanwhile, Rinoa had finally gotten Squall's shirt unbuttoned and he took a deep, shaky breath as her hands and lips roamed his bared chest.

 

"Do you want to go back in?" he asked her softly. Then he gasped as her teeth grazed his nipple.

 

"No." Rinoa kissed Squall just below his pendant, and he swallowed, his pounding heart and surging blood making coherent thought difficult. His knees turned to water when she reached the waistband of his jeans and unbuttoned them, grazing the rigid evidence of his arousal in the process. He didn't know how much more Rinoa's attentions he could take; he could feel his control slipping with every beat of his heart.

 

Finally, he gasped, "Lounger. NOW."

 

Rinoa giggled softly as he all but picked her up and carried her over to the indicated piece of patio furniture, his urgency very evident. Once there however, the momentary pause apparently allowed him to reassert his control a little. Enough that he was able to slowly lay her back onto the lounger, and carefully, deliberately, crawl onto it like a stalking lion. His lion head pendant swung free, flashing in the last rays of golden light, fascinating Rinoa as he approached until he was directly above her.

 

Then he kissed her, and the flames ignited again. This time, he allowed his hunger free reign, and Rinoa was swept away in passion as he kissed and nibbled his way down her neck, sending a tingling shiver down her spine, tightening a coil of tension in her lower abdomen. He moved the straps to her dress down her arms, taking the bodice with it and baring her breasts to the warm air. She gasped, closing her eyes as his warm breath brushed one sensitive nipple before he drew it into his mouth, teasing it to hardness before he directed his attention to the other one. She ran her fingers through his soft, thick hair as he continued his attentions, feeling her entire body tingle with arousal now, with the pulsing, molten heat centered at the apex of her thighs.

 

Squall finally lay down on his side next to Rinoa, pulling her close, caressing her breasts and running his hand down her side to her thigh, moving the skirt of her dress out of the way and pulling off her underpants in one deft motion. Then he touched her intimately, slipping a finger into her slick heat and stroking the tiny bundle of nerves at its core, and she cried out, shuddering at the flood of sensation so intense it was nearly painful.

 

"Squall," she managed to gasp, "please…" Squall answered with a guttural growl, freeing himself from his confining clothing at last and positioned himself over Rinoa, poised on a knife's edge, trembling and sweating. His manhood touched her opening as he lowered himself to her, the cold metal of his pendant coming to rest between Rinoa's breasts momentarily, before his chest trapped it between them as he slid home. The feel of him filling her, stretching her, withdrawing and returning stoked the fire that consumed her from the inside, increasing her inner tension to the breaking point where it hovered, trembling. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around him, raking her nails down his back before digging them into his backside, spurring him on, urging him to greater speed, deeper penetration as they drove each other to that breaking point… and beyond.

 

Rinoa's release came first and she cried out as she throbbed, pulsed and trembled in its throes. That in turn triggered Squall's orgasm and he gasped and stiffened, then collapsed, panting as he in turn throbbed within her. They simply lay together afterward, both too spent to move for the moment.

 

Senses began to return to Squall and he became aware that he was likely crushing Rinoa under his weight and he moved off of her to lie on his side, facing her.

 

Rinoa frowned as he withdrew, reaching out to stroke the side of his face and run her fingers through his now damp hair.

 

"You weren't crushing me, you're not that heavy." She whispered. It was nearly dark now, the final glow of the sunset bleeding into violet shadows as they lingered in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Squall shrugged. It had seemed so to him, so rather than listen to her struggle to breathe because of his weight as he rested on her chest; he'd decided to move.

 

"You were gasping for air," he whispered.

 

Rinoa laughed quietly, "We were both gasping for air." Squall joined her in laughter, then he quieted and reached out to caress her cheek and run his fingers back through her sweat dampened hair as she had done with him.

 

"I love you, Rinoa." He whispered. The words came easily to him now, but he was still sparing in their use. Each time he said them to Rinoa, it was as though he was saying them for the first time.

 

"I love you too." she replied, kissing him softly.

 

He held her close, then looked down at their rumpled, partially dressed state and chuckled, "I think I might have ruined your dress Rin. I'm sorry."

 

"It'll clean." She replied, unconcerned.

 

"Speaking of clean, I could use a shower. Care to join me?" Squall invited. At Rinoa's nod, Squall extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and fabric they'd ended up as and stood, pulling his pants back up. Then he reached a hand down to help Rinoa to her feet, zipping the back of her dress as she pulled its bodice back over her breasts.

 

Moments later they were both in the shower, and while they did wash up, there was a fair amount of sex involved. Making love in the shower could be tricky, the slippery footing making it almost dangerous. But Squall's innate sense of balance reduced the risk, and the amount of practice that he and Rinoa had gotten with it had helped.

 

Several minutes later, showered clean and presentably dressed, they both left for Laguna's suite for dinner.


	3. Cold Fire

They arrived at Laguna's section of the Palace late, but not nearly as late as they'd feared they'd be.

At Squall's knock, Laguna himself answered, greeting them enthusiastically, "Come in! Come in! Thanks for coming guys! I was beginning to wonder." He opened the door wide, allowing them to enter, and Squall looked around with interest, not having seen Laguna's home before. It was spacious and airy, with the ever-present glass doors leading out to a large balcony with a handsome collection of patio furniture grouped outside. The doors stood open, allowing the cooling night air to circulate through the apartment.

Comfortable-looking suede furniture in deep chocolate brown was grouped in the living room; the carpeting in pale champagne gave way to golden brown wood parquet in the kitchen and dining room. A beautiful, burled wood table dominated the dining room with seating for six. Currently, four places were set with creamy white porcelain and silver dishware.

"Sorry we're late," Squall began, and Laguna, noticing Rinoa's rosy glow and Squall's still damp hair, correctly deduced the reason behind it and laughed softly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're here." He said, giving Rinoa a hug. Then he turned to Squall, who handed him a silver ice bucket containing what appeared to be a bottle of wine, nearly buried in ice.

"What's this?" He asked, curiously. The bottle was buried to the neck in ice, so Laguna couldn't see the maker or vintage.

"Trabian Ice Wine. You might want to stick that in the freezer if you don't want to open it yet, it needs to be kept very cold." Squall instructed.

_"Trabian Ice Wine?_ How'd you come by that? It's really hard to find." Laguna asked, intrigued.

"The current Headmaster at Trabia Garden sends me a bottle every year for my birthday. I've got two more at home." Squall answered, shrugging.

"Don't tell me you've never even tried it?" Laguna asked, incredulously.

"I have. They toasted the reopening of Trabia Garden with it when it was rebuilt. When I commented to the Headmaster how much I'd liked it, he sent me a bottle a few months later on my birthday." Squall answered. Laguna gestured for them to follow him as he headed toward the kitchen to put the wine in the freezer. Squall looked around as he followed, wondering if Ellone had made it.

A telltale tickle in his head told him that she had, and moments later she appeared, entering the kitchen from the dining room.

"Hey sis," Squall smiled, hugging her.

"Hey yourself, little brother," she smiled up at him, brown eyes sparkling.

"Little?" Squall raised his eyebrows.

She laughed, "I know, you haven't been 'little' for quite awhile now, but I'm still older than you."

Ellone turned to Rinoa, folding her into a hug, saying, "It's so nice to see you two again."

Then she gave Squall a conspiratorial wink and sent,_"I was tempted to remind you to come when I noticed you running late, but you were…preoccupied."_

_ "Sis! You didn't peek did you?!"_ Squall frowned at her. She laughed, shaking her head. The surge of emotions she'd felt from him when she'd attempted to connect were more than enough to send her into a red-faced retreat. Rinoa stifled a laugh and both Squall and Ellone stared at her with identical expressions of shock on their faces.

"You _heard_ that?" Squall asked, startled. Rinoa's face suddenly went white as she realized the mistake she'd made. The first time she'd heard Squall's thoughts, it had sent her into a panic, knowing how little he'd appreciate having his mind invaded. So she'd contacted Edea, who'd shown her how to prevent that. After she'd felt confident in her control, she'd made sure her barriers were tight against any future occurrence.

Swallowing, eyes huge, she said, "I…its part of my sorceress powers… part of the bond between sorceress and knight."

Blinking away tears as Squall remained frozen in place, Rinoa wrapped her arms around herself and continued in a whisper, "The first time it happened, I went to Edea, who taught me how to control it. I've kept my barriers closed since then to prevent inadvertently overhearing anything. I promise you Squall; I've never…_peeked_, as you put it."

_ "Squall, she's terrified..."_ Ellone sent. He glanced over at her, expression unreadable, then went over to Rinoa.

Taking both of her hands, he stared intently into her eyes and thought,_ "can you hear me?"_

When she nodded, he continued,_ "I believe you when you said you've never 'peeked' or listened in. I'd have suspected a long time ago if you had. I've already committed myself to you as your knight, and while I didn't know everything that went with it, Cid DID tell me a little bit of what HE had to deal with. So while unexpected, this wasn't entirely an unknown possibility."_

Then he smiled slightly,_ "it would have been useful to know about this ability when we were kidnapped a few months back though."_

Rinoa smiled back, and he brushed her tears away, whispering, "Don't worry, I'm actually okay with this." Then he added mentally,_ "As long as you don't peek… unless I ask you to."_ He pulled her close and simply held her, resting his cheek against her hair.

Laguna, re-entering the kitchen from the dining room to find out what had delayed his guests, stopped as he saw their embrace, touched by the sight. A lump rose in his throat as he thought to himself,_ like it or not, Squall is, despite the name given to him, a Loire. And we Loires only fall in love, REAL love, once in our lives. It was the same for my parents, and for me. I'll never regret falling in love with Raine, no matter how short a time we had together, but no one since has even piqued my interest._

Ellone quietly left them together and took Laguna's arm, urging him to leave the kitchen with her in order to give her brother and his fiancée some privacy.

They entered the dining room a few moments later, with Squall offering a somewhat sheepish apology, "Sorry. Again."

Laguna smiled, "No need son. I hope you guys are hungry."

Squall, pulling a chair out for Rinoa said, "I could eat. What's for dinner anyway?"

"Grilled mesmerize steaks along with some grilled veggies and a salad." Laguna answered.

Squall frowned, "I didn't see a grill outside."

"I do have one, but I didn't use it tonight. Since I wasn't sure what time you'd show up, I decided to wait until you got here to order dinner from the main kitchen downstairs. How do you like your steaks?" Laguna asked.

Squall looked over at Rinoa, who answered, "medium."

"Rare, for me," Squall answered.

Laguna nodded and left to place their orders. Ellone meanwhile poured some water into the crystal water goblets that had been set for them, then got up to decant some red wine to have with their dinner.

She brought back the crystal carafe containing the wine and placed it on the table. The heady, fruity fragrance of the wine perfumed the air, and Squall took a deep, appreciative breath.

"Galbadian red?" he asked.

Ellone nodded, surprised, "Wow! What a nose! You smelled that all the way over there?"

Squall shrugged. His keen senses always seemed to surprise people. To Squall, they were just better tools than most people were gifted with; tools that made his job easier to do.

Laguna returned moments later, informing them that their dinner should arrive shortly. Sitting down, he took a sip of the water.

Sighing, he brushed his silvered hair back from his face and said hesitantly, "Squall… about this afternoon.." Squall made no comment, he simply waited, expression unreadable. Laguna grimaced. He hated it when his son did that, it made it so much harder to talk to him when he put his mask on. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"Look. I get it. I know why you hate Odine so much, Elle and I both know. But like it or not, you have to work with the man, at least for the time being. Can you dial down the hostility a little bit? As little as I like the man myself, I have to admit that we still need him." Laguna sighed at Squall's lack of response. If he had a mind to, he'd spend the rest of the night in stony silence. Laguna had learned that Squall could be exceedingly stubborn at times.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous Dr. Odine is?" Squall asked in a level tone.

Laguna frowned in confusion, "Dangerous? How? He spends all his time messing about in the lab on one project or another."

"Dr. Odine is brilliant. Probably the most intelligent person I've ever met. The sheer number of inventions he's come up with is truly astounding. But he's also completely amoral. He will stop at nothing to achieve whatever goal he has in mind._ Nothing._ Do you understand me?" Squall asked, gazing intently at Laguna. Then his blood chilled at Squall's next question.

"If Odine thought nothing of treating a four-year-old girl like a lab animal, what else might he do if left to his own devices?" The answer to that question hung in the air, unspoken.

_ Junction Machine Ellone._ The device that had allowed Ultimecia to posses first Edea, then Rinoa in her efforts to bring about time compression. It was Odine's studies of Ellone's unique talent, his theories on how it worked, and his prototype, that had eventually led to it being built. One of Odine's inventions had nearly destroyed the world. The next one might actually do it.

Laguna remained silent as that thought sunk in.

Then he said, "I am aware of how.. _ethically challenged_ he is Squall. We do have an oversight in place. We review all of his projects and I give final approval or denial of his funding before he does anything. But I do see your point. Just, try not to make it personal, okay son?"

"I can't promise anything. Did you see how he looked at us? I felt like a prize stud at a livestock show. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd wanted to check my teeth. Ugh!" Squall shuddered in disgust. Laguna grimaced. He'd missed that part. No wonder Squall had wanted to kill the guy. He might have done the same thing if he'd been in Squall's shoes.

Further discussion along those lines ceased as dinner arrived, and Squall was thankful for the distraction. The antelope-like mesmerize was plentiful in Esthar and their meat had a mild flavor reminiscent of venison. Not all of the monsters that he'd hunted in the past were edible; a good number of them were in fact poisonous. But this actually wasn't too bad. The steaks were tender and flavorful, seasoned with some exotic spice that Squall had only encountered in Esthar. He poked doubtfully at the grilled vegetables before turning back to the steak, ignoring them.

Ellone poured them all a glass of the Galbadian red and Laguna raised his, saying, "To family."

They all touched glasses and took a drink, and then Laguna added, eyes twinkling, "oh, and Squall?"

"What?" he asked, curiously.

"Eat your vegetables son." Both Ellone and Rinoa stifled laughter at Laguna's half-serious reminder.

"You're kidding, right?"

***********************************************************************************************************************

After dinner, they all adjourned to the balcony, where the night air had cooled to a comfortable temperature. Ellone and Rinoa were having an animated conversation about wedding plans, while Squall and Laguna both leaned against the railing, taking in the nighttime cityscape. A gentle, cooling breeze blew Squall's bangs into his eyes and combed through Laguna's longer, silver-shot mane.

"So, how are the wedding plans coming?" Laguna asked. Squall shrugged. Laguna chuckled.

"You at least know the date, right?" he asked.

"Yes." Squall answered with a slight smile. Then he turned and leaned his hip against the balcony railing, facing Laguna. He'd decided to wear his teal silk shirt (Rinoa's favorite) that evening, with his usual black jeans. The leather pants had regretfully been retired once he'd gotten too tall to wear them without looking silly. He'd considered replacing them, but wanted to wait until he was sure he was actually done growing before he did. Quite without intending to, the dark colors he'd chosen made him fade into the shadows. Only his platinum pendant, glittering in the starlight, distinguished him in the dimness.

"Then you're covered. As long as you know the date, time and place, you're okay." Laguna said.

"Well, I did have a little input on this. We're doing it at Garden, and I'm wearing my dress uniform. I told Rinoa those were the only things I wanted to do, she could do whatever she wanted with the rest." Squall said.

Laguna chuckled, "That could backfire on you."

Squall shook his head, "I'm not worried."

"You about ready to get into that ice wine?" Laguna suggested.

Squall suddenly grinned, "sure, but I have to warn you, it's very potent. A little goes a long way."

They left the balcony and headed toward the kitchen, with Squall pausing by Rinoa and Ellone, asking them, "you two want some of the ice wine?"

At their nods, he said, "I'll be right back."

When he caught up with Laguna in the kitchen, he'd already gotten four cut crystal aperitif glasses out and was pulling the ice-wine from the freezer. After carefully working the bottle out of the ice and opening it, he poured the deep amber liquid into each glass.

They each took two of the glasses and went back outside, with Squall handing one of his to Rinoa and Laguna giving a glass to Ellone. Sitting down next to Rinoa on the lounger, he watched as Laguna took a sniff first, raising his eyebrows at the aroma, before taking a sip.

"Very nice." Laguna said, taking another taste. Squall sipped at his drink, savoring the sweet burn of the liquid. It was both ice-cold and due to the alcohol content, it burned all the way down. Cold fire, it was nicknamed, because the process used in making the ice wine concentrated it to the point that it was nearly pure alcohol. So it would not freeze. It was sweeter and had an almost flowery aroma compared to brandy, but the taste was similar.

Rinoa took a tiny sip, gasping at the potency of the liqueur.

"Wow." Squall smiled over at her.

"Okay?" he asked.

She nodded, taking another sip. After the initial shock, she found that she rather liked the flavor of the ice wine.

"So, is there anything new in your life these days Ellone?" Rinoa asked.

Ellone shrugged, "I'm in my final semester at the university here, and I work part time as an intern in the airstation as a technician with Piet."

"Really? That's cool! I didn't know you were interested in that stuff." Rinoa asked. Squall didn't either, and was a little chagrined that he hadn't thought to ask Ellone about her life.

"It's pretty fascinating. Plus I get the added bonus of seeing my brother being all studly up there in the Ragnarok." She laughed. Squall snorted.

"Yeah, he is pretty studly, isn't he?" Rinoa said, smiling up at him, slipping an arm around his waist. He pulled her close and kissed her temple. He was grateful for the dim lighting that hid the flush he felt heating his cheeks. She still did that to him sometimes.

"Well tomorrow morning Squall, we've got a briefing on how we plan on recovering the Lunar Base casualties and salvaging anything up there that might be remotely useable." Laguna said, adding, "And yes, Odine is going to be there." He gazed steadily at Squall who shrugged indifferently. Laguna sighed. As long as Odine didn't make it personal, Squall wouldn't. He'd just have to trust his son to maintain his professional objectivity.

They called it a night soon after that. It was getting late and the meeting planned for the next morning meant that they'd have to get to sleep fairly soon if they were going to be of any use to anyone.

As Squall and Rinoa made ready to leave, Squall said to Laguna, "I'll see you in the morning at the briefing."

"Good night son. You too Rinoa." Laguna gave her a hug, and this time, contented himself with a handshake for Squall. He didn't want to push his son too far out of his comfort zone.

They both hugged Ellone however. As they left, she slipped her arm around Laguna's waist and leaned against him.

"That was fun. I'm so glad we were all able to get together." She said, smiling. Laguna gave her a half-hug.

"You know Elle," he said wistfully, "I think that was our first family dinner."

"It was. I hope we can do it again." She said.

"We'll certainly try. It won't be easy though, with Squall on the other side of the world more often than not." Laguna replied.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth the effort." Ellone said. Laguna nodded.

Hugging her and giving her a kiss on the cheek, Laguna said, "I'm glad you were able to come Elle."

"Me too. I'll see you in the morning, Uncle Laguna." Ellone replied, returning the hug before leaving.

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall and Rinoa walked toward their accommodations, Squall's arm draped casually over her shoulders. It was definitely late, close to midnight. Rinoa hadn't wanted to believe it, time had flown so fast while they were eating dinner and visiting with Laguna and Ellone. It was nice to see Squall's family and see him interact with them. This reconnection with his sister and his father was a slow process but he'd made a lot of progress over the last two and a half years, gradually becoming more comfortable with them. For him to have Ellone back in his life was wonderful, and Rinoa could plainly see how happy that made him; he'd always loved her, even when he'd nearly forgotten her. And despite an initial rocky start, Squall had eventually grown to respect and even love his father. He was still somewhat distant, that would likely never change. But he obviously cared for his father, and that was amazing for Rinoa to see.

It was a stark contrast to her still adversarial relationship with Caraway. When a girl tells her father she's found the man she wants to be with for the rest of her life, the hope is that her father will be happy for her, even if he doesn't approve of her choice. That unfortunately was not the case with Caraway. When Rinoa had told him that Squall had proposed to her and she had accepted, he had become furious. Apparently, he was okay with Squall dating her and her living in Balamb Garden with him, but having the young mercenary as a part of his family was something else entirely. It was just that sort of mixed message that frustrated Rinoa to no end.

Rinoa suspected that Caraway's opposition to her marrying Squall had less to do with Squall himself than it did with Caraway's efforts to control her. Perhaps he'd had someone else in mind for his daughter to marry. It must have been an unpleasant surprise for him to realize that his daughter, at nineteen, didn't need his permission to marry anyone. She'd simply informed him as a matter of courtesy. From Caraway's attitude toward Squall, Rinoa guessed that if her father didn't actually like him, he certainly did at least respect him. The fact of Squall's parentage and his actions during Laguna's official visit to Deling City had earned him that.

Because Caraway was still, at least until the election, the acting leader of Galbadia, and Squall's father was the President of Esthar, it wouldn't do to exclude one and invite the other. So as while Rinoa would have preferred that Caraway have no involvement in her wedding whatsoever, she had to bow to the political implications of excluding him and give him an invitation to come. It was her hope that he would decline, but she knew that he would not.

But she'd be damned if he walked her down the aisle. She'd make that walk alone before she let that happen.

Squall noticed Rinoa's pensive silence and wondered about it. He knew she'd enjoyed their evening with Laguna and Ellone, and truthfully, he did also. He was… happy… that the people whom he cared about the most all seemed to be getting along with each other. He knew that wasn't the case with Rinoa and her father, and truly, he didn't know what he could do to help her with that. He was what he was, and Caraway didn't have to like it for Squall to marry his daughter.

As far as the financial aspect of putting the wedding together went, Squall had no problems with footing the bill himself. He wasn't outrageously rich, but the fact of the matter was, as Commander, he_ was _ well paid. And he wasn't given to spending sprees, so most of it was invested or in savings. So Rinoa didn't need to worry about her father's contribution to her wedding, despite tradition saying otherwise. Tradition be damned. It was a small price to pay for peace of mind.

They reached their rooms and Squall ushered Rinoa inside, stifling a yawn as he did.

Rinoa smiled as she caught sight of it, asking him, "tired?"

"A little bit. I drank just enough tonight to make me sleepy." He smiled gently as he drew her into his arms, kissing her softly. Rinoa leaned into him, resting her head against his chest.

"That was nice, having dinner with your family. I wish…" she sighed and lapsed into silence.

"Wish what?" Squall asked quietly, stroking her hair.

"I don't know. Sometimes I wish Caraway and I got along, like when I was little." Rinoa answered, face pressed into Squall's chest. He tightened his arms around her, hoping that would be comfort enough for her, because there was nothing he could say to that statement. Squall had never really had what Rinoa now missed.

He'd had Cid Kramer as his_sort of _father figure, and Edea as Matron, the closest thing to a mother he'd ever known, but those memories were dim and all but gone, eroded by the GF's that Squall had used. He'd learned that Edea had given him Shiva just prior to sending him to Garden, knowing that the Guardian would make him forget her and the orphanage. She had wanted him to forget, because she knew what he had to do, and didn't want his memories to get in the way.

Finally, Squall asked her, "Is he coming?" Rinoa nodded.

"Is that what you want?" He asked. Rinoa shrugged.

"We pretty much have to let him come, otherwise it would look bad that the President of Esthar is in attendance while the acting president of Galbadia, who just happens to be the father of the bride, is not." She said.

"Look bad for whom?_ Us?_ I'm a mercenary. I have no real affiliation with any country, so I couldn't give a rat's ass about the politics between Galbadia and Esthar. I know because of our fathers, our wedding is bound to be a political, media circus. But it doesn't have to be." Squall said, adding, "That doesn't mean that I don't want Laguna and Ellone there, or come to think of it, Caraway. He is your father. What it does mean is that we'll do this wedding the way_we _want to, and not the way tradition, politics, our friends or the media _ thinks _ we should."

Rinoa tightened her arms around him in response, whispering, "I love you."

Squall, resting his cheek against her hair, murmured, "I love you too Rinoa. Just say the word, and I'll put a stop to the whole circus. We'll take off to Trabia or something and get married there. I know the Elder of the Shumi village, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to do the honors for us."

Rinoa sighed, "I have to admit, that's a tempting thought, but it feels like a cop-out. We're just a few months away from the wedding Squall, and I for one want all of our friends and family there with us. We'll just have to deal with the rest of it as it comes. I honestly don't care if Caraway comes or not, I've already decided that he's not escorting me down the aisle. As far as I'm concerned, he's just another guest."

Squall stepped back, taking Rinoa's face in his hands and gazed intently into her eyes, asking her, "Are you sure?"

At her nod, he kissed her gently, saying, "Let's go to bed." Taking her hand, he led her to the bedroom. When he released it to start unbuttoning his shirt, Rinoa stopped him.

"Let me." She smiled, smoothing her hands up the soft silk and starting to unbutton Squall's shirt.

"I'm all yours." He smiled.

Rinoa smiled back, and kissed him, saying, "You bet you are. And _I'm _ all_ yours_." For the next few moments, Rinoa concentrated on slowly, deliberately unbuttoning the shirt, enjoying the crisp feel of the silk under her fingers, the warmth and scent of the skin beneath. She kissed his chest, just over his heart, right next to a faint, almost invisible scar. He didn't move as she continued, caressing and kissing him, smiling as he swallowed audibly.

Once the shirt was completely unbuttoned, she sighed, "I love this shirt on you. You look so good in it, and I just love taking it off of you."

He laughed softly, "Why else do you think I wore it?" He dropped his hands to her waist, leaning in to kiss her.

"I guess I should have mentioned this earlier, but you look beautiful. You always do." He stroked her face lightly, marveling again at its texture under his callused hand. That night Rinoa had chosen to wear her hair up, with small wisps framing her face. The dark hair contrasted with her pale, luminous skin. As always, Squall lost himself in her dark eyes, falling into their chocolate brown depths.

He knew how late it was and they both really needed to get to bed soon. But that was overridden by another need, one that would never go away, no matter how often it was satisfied.

When Rinoa ran her hands lightly up his chest to his shoulders, his first impulse was to simply reach out and crush her to him, kissing her breathless. But he held off, wanting to know what she'd do if he let her take the lead. She stroked her hands down both arms, taking his shirt off with it. He couldn't stifle a soft moan as her hands and lips roamed his body once more.

"I want to try something.." she whispered, and Squall thought his heart would stop at that statement.

Breathless, he asked her, "what?"

Smiling, Rinoa kissed him softly and he closed his eyes and concentrated on the softness of her lips, their taste and texture. Her fingers ran back from the nape of his neck and into his longish hair, and he gasped, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her close. Then, she answered his question.

_ "This…"_ She whispered into his mind, a feathery light touch at first. Then, the floodgates opened. He felt her emotions wash over him, overwhelming him. His knees buckled and he sat down hard on the bed, taking her with him as she bore him down. His mind reeled, as he processed not only the physical sensations she was evoking as she continued to caress and touch him but the emotional ones as well. Somehow, the rest of his clothing was removed and Rinoa, uncharacteristically bold, caressed him intimately, then took him into her mouth. He forgot to breathe for a moment, then gasped, gripping the bedcovers on either side of his body in white-knuckled fists.

_ "Oh, my God…"_was the only coherent thought he could form. He was lost in an endless feedback loop of sensation and emotion. He was himself, but he was also Rinoa. He felt what she felt, tasted what she tasted. She in turn, felt what he felt and thought and sensed. At first he was overcome by a bolt of sheer terror that he was losing himself, and would never find his way out again, but Rinoa calmed and steadied him, reassured him that he was safe. Then he realized it was a two-way sharing, and he turned the tables on her.

He opened his eyes, and anchored himself in her gaze. He knew she could feel what he felt, so he concentrated on his tactile senses, grounding himself in reality. Slowly, deliberately he removed her dress, then her bra and underwear, leaving her stripped bare, as bare physically as he was emotionally and mentally. He pulled her close to him and traced her contours with his fingers lightly, feeling her reaction just as she felt his. Her body thrummed as he stroked her from her belly to her mound, and he thrilled in sympathy with her as he touched the sensitive bud and felt her response. He thought about how much he loved her, how beautiful he thought she was, and he didn't try to hide it. He wasn't sure he could anyway.

Rinoa, catching that thought, gently showed him. The sudden cessation of the contact was like a door being slammed in his face, leaving Squall shocked and shaking in reaction.

"I'm sorry Squall, that was too much…" she whispered.

"No!" he whispered back, breathlessly, "No. It wasn't."

He kissed her urgently, deepening the contact more each time and breathing, "don't stop it now, don't you _dare_ stop…"

When her mind linked to his again, Squall poured all that he felt into the contact; overwhelming Rinoa the same way she had overwhelmed him.

Their hearts beat in sympathy with each other, thudding in perfect synchronicity. When he pulled Rinoa close and entered her with a smooth, quick thrust, she cried out and his voice echoed hers in a deep moan. His passion and hers both fed off each other as they moved as one. Bodies, minds and hearts entwined, they strove together toward the peak.

Rinoa reached it first, and her gasping cry came with a flood of sensations that left them both shuddering, with Squall's release coming hard upon the heels of Rinoa's climax. Then Squall collapsed, breathing raggedly and still shaking, face buried into the crook of Rinoa's neck. They simply lay quietly together, passion's storm spent and their minds reaching a calm state together in the aftermath.

In Squall's mind, he could only form two words, which would forever remind him of this night.

_ "Cold fire"_ The heady taste of the ice wine reminded him of the intoxicating sensations he'd just experienced.

Rinoa, catching that thought, sent,_ "Yes. Cold fire. Like you. Icy cold on the outside, but with fire hidden within.." _

Then she reached out and stroked Squall's hair back from his face, whispering, "I know you can't do this,_ feel_ this, all the time, you wouldn't be able to function. Let me show you how to control it."

She gazed into his eyes, calm and tranquil now, and sent,_ "think of a clear shield around your mind, then anchor it to the earth"_ He closed his eyes and did as she instructed, and felt the contact lessen. It was still there, he could still feel her, could still hear her thoughts, but they were dimmer, less immediate than before.

"Build the shield stronger, layer by layer, until it's like a clear brick wall." Rinoa whispered. As Squall did so, all contact ceased and he was left alone inside his own mind once again. Alone. And oddly, bereft.

"Now, I can't hear your thoughts or read your mind unless I ask to." Rinoa said quietly.

Squall tightened his arms around her, and whispered, "Ask me."

"May I?" she asked. He nodded and lowered his barrier, letting her feel and hear his thoughts.

_ "I love you."_


	4. The Best Laid Plans

Squall's alarm woke him far earlier than he'd have liked, and he turned it off with a quiet groan. He stretched, waking up slowly, still trying to acclimate to Esthar time. Three days was just not long enough to reset his circadian rhythms, so he was still feeling a bit out of sync; hence the alarm, which normally he didn't use. Rolling onto his side, he watched as Rinoa continued sleeping soundly next to him, and he reflected with a smile that it would have taken a much louder alarm, preferably one that could automatically cast a Quake spell, to wake her.

He liked watching her sleep though. As he did, he thought about the previous night and how absolutely amazing it had been. He hadn't been with any other women before Rinoa, but he already knew no one else could to for him what she did. He was looking forward to exploring their newfound connection as often as it was physically and mentally possible.

He pulled her close and she snuggled into him, still sleeping. He held her for a little while, stroking her hair, before kissing her gently and finally getting out of bed. Rinoa sighed and shifted, but never actually woke up. Squall smiled at that, then went to shower and get ready for the briefing.

A few minutes later he arrived at the Airstation, dark sunglasses on and a cup of coffee in hand from a shop he'd stopped at briefly on the way over. Given Esthar's hot desert climate, the usual method of drinking coffee was iced, but Squall couldn't abide it. It was simply too sweet for his liking. It always seemed to frustrate the clerks at the coffee shops however when he ordered his coffee hot and plain. Fortunately, the shop he'd stopped at had gotten used to his preference and gave him very little grief about it. He supposed it didn't hurt that he was easily recognizable as President Loire's son.

He approached the Airstation and walked inside, finding his father, who'd just arrived himself.

"Late night son?" Laguna asked with a smile, noticing the sunglasses and coffee.

"You should know, you were there." Squall replied.

"Yes, but I went to sleep after you left." Laguna said.

"We did too. Eventually." Squall said with a half-smile. Laguna snorted. _Oh, to be young and in love…_

"Well, I hope you aren't too tired to pay attention to the briefing. It's going to be important." Laguna said.

"I won't be." Squall said. It wouldn't be the first time he'd had a briefing on too little sleep. Sometimes it happened that way, particularly when in a crisis situation like the battle between Galbadia and Balamb Garden. It wasn't ideal, but he could handle it.

Laguna led Squall to the conference room and they joined the rest of the technicians gathered there. As they sat down, Dr. Odine made his entrance.

_"Nice shades bro. Are you trying to be terminally cool or did you just forget to take them off?"_ Ellone sent with amusement.

Squall smiled slightly and removed them, responding,_ "Can it be both?"_ Ellone put her hand over her mouth, eyes twinkling as she stifled a soft laugh.

Then Dr. Odine arrived at the front of the room and activated the holo-vid, beginning his lecture.

Squall sipped at his coffee and listened to Odine outline the particulars of the mission. Squall would be in command of it, a fact that made him sigh quietly. He knew how to fly the Ragnarok into and out of orbit, but in his opinion, he'd be better utilized as just the pilot, with a more experienced technician commanding the mission itself. He wondered if he'd been given command based upon his father's identity. He was on the verge of saying something about it when Ellone caught his eye and shook her head slightly. Fine then. He'd wait and talk to Laguna privately about it to make his concerns known.

There would be a total crew complement of six. Three to do the retrieval while Squall and two other crew members remained aboard the Ragnarok to monitor the EVA, ready for rescue should it be required.

"Ze mission is scheduled for July 12. Zat is the time when ze remains of ze lunar base will be in closest proximity to us. It vill make ze launch and return much quicker, and vill make ze best use of ze fuel aboard ze ship. Ze mission vill last five days, on ze fifth day, you must return or miss ze window. If you miss ze window, you can still return but it will take longer and ve vill have to choose another landing site." Odine said, and Squall frowned. Three weeks before the wedding. And he was going to be in space for nearly a week of it. Well, it couldn't be helped, and he _had_volunteered for it. Mostly.

_"Rotten timing, isn't it, brother?" _Ellone sent sympathetically.

_"Only if something goes wrong." _ Squall sent back.

_"Well then, let's hope that nothing does."_Ellone replied, and Squall sent his agreement.

Then he returned his attention to Odine, who was reading off the names of those who would be part of the Ragnarok's crew for the upcoming mission. Squall didn't know all of the people on the list Odine was reading from, but he did recognize Piet's name. That eased at least some of his concerns, for he knew Piet to be a very experienced technician.

The remainder of the briefing involved Odine giving detailed information on the procedures they would use to retrieve the bodies that had been left behind, and what to look for in terms of salvageable items. Little as he liked Odine, Squall was at least confident that the plans were based on good, solid data, so the likelihood of anything going wrong was slight.

The meeting adjourned soon after, and Squall approached Laguna as Odine and the technicians filed out.

"I need to talk with you for a moment Laguna," he said, his expression serious.

"Okay. Follow me," Laguna said, leading Squall to the end of the conference room, out of easy earshot of anyone who might have remained behind.

"What's on your mind son?" he asked.

"I need to know if I was given command of this mission based on who you are. I'm not the most experienced person here when it comes to dealing with this kind of thing. I personally think that I'd be better as just the pilot, with Piet or someone else in command of the mission itself." Squall said.

Laguna studied Squall, noting that while Squall appeared concerned, it was only that and nothing more. He had to admire his son for his fearlessness.

"You want to know if I used my influence to give you this command? Well, the answer is no, I didn't. If I were to do something like that, if anything, I'd use my influence to keep you grounded. Do you think I like the prospect of sending you out to do something so dangerous? And just before your wedding?" Laguna asked.

When Squall didn't respond, Laguna continued, "You got the command based upon your experience as SeeD Commander and the fact that you are the only person qualified to pilot the Ragnarok into orbit. No one has flown that ship outside the atmosphere in twenty years. The original crew is dead, killed by those monsters that you and Rinoa had to battle when you managed to get onto the ship three years ago. Like it or not Squall, you're the only person who can do this job."

Then Laguna reached out and squeezed Squall's shoulder, saying, "I know you're light on experience in this, particularly in the technical area. That's why we've assembled a crew of the most experienced technicians we could get to support you. I personally worked with four of them myself checking the seals on Adel's pod before the lunar cry. They know how to handle doing an EVA safely." Squall nodded, satisfied.

"Okay. I just wanted to check." Squall said, then added, frowning, "I just hope the crew doesn't think nepotism was involved. The last thing I need is to be commanding a group of people who have no confidence in my ability to lead."

"Well, I know Piet at least is familiar with you and your abilities. He was very impressed with how you handled yourself on the Lunar Base when everything was coming apart. He told me you were completely fearless, even when you leaped out into space to save Rinoa with no guarantee that either of you would survive. It's because of you we even have the Ragnarok to use. I don't think you'll have a problem with the crew respecting you son." Laguna told him.

"Well that's good to know." Squall said, turning to leave.

"Where are you headed off to now?" Laguna asked, curiously. Squall paused and shrugged.

"There isn't anything else scheduled for me to do this morning that I'm aware of, so I thought I'd head back to the room and see if Rinoa was awake yet and take her out for breakfast." He answered.

Laguna sighed, "I have a cabinet meeting in about half an hour, and that's going to keep me busy for most of the day. When do you need to head back to Balamb?"

"Tomorrow morning." Squall answered.

"Stop by before you leave if you can, okay son?" Laguna asked. Squall nodded. Then Laguna pulled him into a brief hug before stepping back.

"If we don't manage to connect though, have a safe trip." Laguna said.

"Thanks dad. We'll see you later tonight though, don't worry about that." Squall left on that statement. He nodded to acknowledge the tall, silent man who waited just inside the conference room doorway.

"Laguna." Kiros had entered quietly, not wanting to disturb Laguna's conversation with Squall. He was happy that Laguna had managed to establish a relationship with his son. As difficult as the young man could be at times, Kiros had wondered if they'd ever manage to get along. It had been a slow process, but it finally appeared that the two of them had reached an understanding; a fact that impressed Kiros to no end, given the amount of patience his normally impulsive friend Laguna had had to exercise in order to get there.

"Yes, Kiros?" he prompted, when the silence stretched too long.

"I was coming to remind you about the cabinet meeting. We should head over there now, don't you think?" Kiros asked.

Laguna nodded, "Alright, let's go."

Kiros fell into step beside him as they made their way toward the grav-tube that would take them back to the palace.

"It's good to see him again, isn't it?" Kiros asked.

"Yeah. It is. I don't know if it's due to age or what, but I just don't see my son enough." Laguna said.

"At least you do see him, even if it isn't as often as you'd like." Kiros observed.

"Yeah, there is that." Laguna sighed as they got onto the transport device and headed off.

"And for a wonder, he actually _wants_ to see you. I find that amazing." Kiros said.

"Don't be insulting Kiros." Laguna frowned.

Kiros chuckled, "just keepin' it real man."

 

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall arrived back at the room to find Rinoa still sleeping. Smiling, he carefully lay down next to her, propping his head on his fist, and tickled the side of her face. She shifted and wrinkled her nose, but stayed firmly asleep.

"Rinoa," he said softly. Tentatively, he lowered his shields and brushed the surface of her mind, knowing she was awake the moment he touched her. She groaned, stretching, but still refused to open her eyes.

He tickled her again, this time in the sensitive spot behind her ear. She cringed, laughing, and opened her eyes.

"Morning." He smiled. She smiled back.

"Morning to you too." She yawned, stretching her arms above her head before rolling onto her side, facing Squall. Reaching out, she caressed the side of his face, running her fingers back into his hair before leaning forward and giving him a soft kiss.

_"How'd you sleep?"_ Squall thought, sending her a mental caress.

_"Very well. And you?"_ She answered. Squall kissed her again, this time lingering over it.

_"Indescribable."_ That was the only way he could articulate it. He let her feel the rest from him, how much he'd enjoyed their connection the previous night and how much he wanted to do it again. A warm feeling of love and desire from her was all the invitation he needed.

He pulled her close against him, kissing her deeply, stroking her hair as he concentrated on tasting her soft lips. Then he trailed soft kisses down her neck to her shoulder, moving his hand down her back, taking the sheet covering her with it. It began again, the sending and receiving of thoughts, emotions, sensations.

Then Squall's cell phone rang. Insistently. Squall flopped over onto his back with a groan. He gave Rinoa an exasperated look at her giggle as he gingerly fished his phone out of his front pocket.

"Hello." He answered.

"Yo! Squall! Whazzup man!" Squall sighed, telling Rinoa "Zell", and then he gently raised his shields. Rinoa sighed sadly as the contact ceased, her body still resonating not only with her own arousal, but Squall's as well.

"What do you want Zell?" Squall asked, staring at the ceiling, waiting for his blood to cool.

"Tch, man, what's got you so grumpy?"

"Nothing. Is there a particular reason you called me?" Squall asked in exasperation.

"Yeah, so like, Irvine and I were thinking about the bachelor party, and…" Zell began.

Squall cut him off, "I already told you, I don't want a bachelor party. The last thing I want is to show up at my wedding with a hangover."

"But Squall…" Zell protested.

"No. Absolutely not." Squall said firmly.

"Fine." Zell sighed.

"Was there anything else you wanted Zell?" Squall asked.

"No," came the crestfallen response.

"You might as well go ahead and tell Quistis and Xu that Rinoa and I will be back tomorrow." Squall told him.

"Alright." Said Zell, and the call ended. Squall lowered the hand holding the phone to the bed, looking over at Rinoa.

"No bachelor party Squall? C'mon, you can't really want to blow that off?" She asked.

Squall shrugged, "it doesn't matter to me. I just don't want to be hung over on our wedding day, that's all." He reached for her again and kissed her, wanting to pick up where they had left off, but the mood had shifted. Then his stomach growled, reminding him audibly that he had intended to take Rinoa out for breakfast before he'd gotten sidetracked.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her.

"Actually, yes, I am." She said.

"Why don't you get showered and dressed and we'll go get something to eat." He suggested.

"Okay." She said, getting out of bed while Squall watched, enjoying the sight of her beautifully nude body as she walked into the bathroom to shower. He was tempted to join her, but decided to hold off on that desire and save it for later.

************************************************************************************************************************

"So? What'd he say?" Irvine prompted as Zell hung up his cell phone. They sat in Balamb Garden's cafeteria just finishing up dinner. Sometimes, Zell forgot that Esthar was on the other side of the world. Squall had likely just been waking up there when he'd called. That at least offered the best explanation for his friend's gruff attitude when Zell had called him.

"Absolutely not. His exact words." Zell answered glumly.

"Seriously? This is gonna be tougher than I thought." Irvine said, frowning.

"You're not going to go ahead and plan the bachelor party anyway, are you? You know Squall won't go for it." Zell protested.

"You leave that to me. Did he say anything about why he didn't want to do it?" Irvine asked.

"He said he didn't want to be hung over on his wedding day." Zell answered.

"Huh. Well, that makes sense." Irvine said, tapping his index finger against his lips as he pondered that for a moment.

Then he said, "What if we do the bachelor party a week before? That way, we can all get totally shredded and still make it to the wedding looking like a million gil."

Zell grinned, "that actually sounds like a really good idea! Where do you want to do it?"

"Well, there's the Shumi Village Casino and Resort up in Trabia that just opened a few months ago. I've been dying to check it out." Irvine answered.

"Great!" Zell said enthusiastically, "Let's do it!"

"Okay. I'll make the reservations and you work on the guest list." Irvine said.

************************************************************************************************************************

After they'd eaten, Squall and Rinoa wandered around the mall for a little while. Squall had already seen most of what there was to see, but Rinoa wanted to investigate some shops that she hadn't had the opportunity to see on her last visit there. Squall, in a mellow mood, simply went along with her as she went into whichever shops struck her fancy.

Eventually they made their way back to the room, and Squall, after giving Rinoa a quick kiss, told her he needed to check his email and do a little work before they went back to Laguna's.

With that thought in mind, he took his laptop into the small office that their temporary home had, logged into the Garden network and typed in his username, ID and password. For the next hour or so, Squall kept busy reading and answering the numerous emails that seemed to crop up whenever he was away from Garden.

Xu did a good job keeping Garden running smoothly while Squall was away, but some things that cropped up needed only his attention. So he reviewed some disciplinary reports that Xu felt required his attention, looked over some requests for SeeD assistance, answered several emails from Quistis, Selphie, Zell and Irvine, assuring them all that he was indeed returning the next day.

As he logged off, he thought Rinoa might want to check her own email and went looking for her.

Locating her in the sitting room, Squall asked her, "Rin? Did you want to check your email or anything before I shut down the computer?"

"Sure," She answered, and went into the other room. While she was busy with that, Squall decided to double-check his packing, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. They were leaving early the next morning, so the fewer things they needed to worry about the better.

When she'd finished, they left for Laguna's place.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?" Laguna asked, taking a sip from his beer, relaxing on a lounger after a long day at work. Squall and Rinoa shared the lounger next to him on the balcony. The last rays of the golden sunset faded into rose and lavender, buildings of glass and steel reflecting rainbow glimmers into the advancing night. The heat of the day was fading along with the sun, but it was still almost too warm for comfort. Laguna had turned on the misting system however, and the fine spray of water helped keep the temperature balmy.

"Early." Squall said, smiling slightly at Rinoa's sigh. She was not a morning person.

Then he added for Rinoa's benefit, "as early as possible, at any rate." Laguna chuckled quietly at that.

"You feel confident about the retrieval mission?" Laguna asked.

Squall shrugged, "from an informational standpoint, yes. But planning can only do so much. There are still a lot of variables involved and you can't anticipate absolutely everything."

"You sound confident." Laguna commented. Squall shrugged again. He knew his job, and could only trust that the other members of the crew with him would be equally, if not more, competent.

_"I think you'll do fine. I kind of wish I was going up there with you. Even when we weren't sure we'd survive the last time we were there, I thought the view was incredible."_ Rinoa sent. Squall smiled to himself, careful not to think about his plans in that direction. He _was_ shielding, but lightly, so he could still hear Rinoa's comment.

"Well, they hammered the emergency procedures pretty hard while I was training for this. They brought up as many worst-case scenarios as they could." Squall commented, taking a sip from his own beer. Sharing a beer with my father. Who would have thought? Certainly not Squall, three years ago or even six months ago. Things had gradually shifted for them, and while they were not perfect; there were times that Squall still thought Laguna to be a bit of a moron, they were…good. And honestly, some of Laguna's goofiness was actually kind of endearing.

Although there were times that Squall thought Laguna was taking the fatherly bit just a little too much to heart, like at dinner the previous night.

"Squall," Laguna began, changing the subject, "I know you two are handling the wedding yourselves, financially speaking. And I respect that. But if there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."

Squall frowned slightly, asking, "what do you mean?" Rinoa squeezed Squall's hand, sending him positive, encouraging thoughts.

"Well, I'm not talking money, unless that's what you need." Laguna said.

When Squall shook his head negatively, Laguna continued, "Well, really then, anything at all I can help with I'm willing to do. In fact, can I offer a suggestion with regards to your guest list?"

"What?" Squall asked, looking wary.

"Invite the press." Laguna raised his hand at Squall's glare. "Hear me out, son. I know you don't care for the attention the media has given the two of you, but there is a skill to managing it in such a way that it impacts your personal, private life as little as possible." Squall's expression turned thoughtful as he recalled exactly _ how _skilled Laguna had been in manipulating the press with regards to Rinoa's sorceress status. He'd had years as the President of Esthar to learn how to manage the media representatives that flocked to persons in positions of power. And like it or not, as both the Commander of SeeD and Laguna's son, Squall had his own flock of reporters and paparazzi to contend with.

"OK. I'm listening." Squall said.

"The secret to managing the media is to get them on your side. You do that by treating their representatives with respect, by answering their questions honestly, and by giving them access to information, but only giving them what _you_ want them to know. And there's a trick to answering questions without giving away too much or appearing evasive or dishonest. If you can get the media on your side, you'll find that they'll respect your privacy more." Laguna told him.

Squall took a drink, commenting, "not much different from running an interrogation, come to think of it. Except the shoe's on the other foot, and I'm supposed to provide a bit more information than simply name, rank and ID number."

Laguna chuckled, "you're not far wrong. I've had some interviews where I've felt exactly like that. It can be a tough balancing act. A public relations expert could help you with that. I know a couple of good ones I could put you in touch with if you want to consult with them."

Squall grimaced, saying, "I'll think about it, although I'd much prefer _not_ playing the media game if I can avoid it."

Laguna sighed, "like it or not son, you're already_ in _the game because of who_ you _are and who _I _am. It's up to you if you want to learn the rules and play the game, or try and avoid it altogether and let the game play you."

Squall frowned at that. To a certain extent, that was exactly what was happening. He was smart enough to figure out that it was Laguna's influence that had mitigated some of that; otherwise paparazzi and news reporters would stalk him at every turn. The last thing Squall wanted to be forced into doing would be to hire bodyguards. He was SeeD, for crying out loud. If he couldn't protect himself or Rinoa, he might as well just hang up his gunblade. But sheer numbers could overwhelm even the best warrior in the world. And really, laying about with his weapon wasn't the best response to the crush of reporters and paparazzi Squall knew was coming, due to both his coming wedding and the work he was doing with the Airstation in the salvage and retrieval operation.

They were really just doing their jobs as they saw them. Not much different than Squall himself.

"Alright then, who do you think I should invite?" Squall asked, toying with his beer bottle before taking another drink.

"I'll get you the names and contact info of a few reporters I've had dealings with who've impressed me by how professional and objective they are." Laguna answered, then continued, "The good part about your being so elusive Squall is this: those reporters that you do invite will feel special because of the exclusivity of the guest list. I can guarantee that they'll do their damnedest to protect that exclusivity and their source, which in this case is you."

Squall sighed. He still didn't like the idea. Being the focus of so much attention bothered him. And yet, again and again, he kept getting thrust to the forefront of any endeavor that was guaranteed to do exactly that. This time however, he wasn't simply blindly following fate. This was something he'd chosen to do, and for a specific purpose. In the end, if simply doing his job made him a hero and made him the focus of so much fascination, he'd just have to deal with it. It didn't hurt having someone on your side that actually had experience with that sort of thing. Laguna's support was something that Squall appreciated and he was warmed by it.

Rinoa leaned her head against Squall's shoulder and he gave her a squeeze, resting his cheekbone on the top of her head. Technically, he'd been working while in Esthar. But it had felt more like a vacation. Certainly he felt more relaxed and at ease, despite the intensive training he'd undergone, than he had in a while. One of the main reasons for this was Rinoa. Uninterrupted time with her was rare when they were at Garden. Squall's job ate up a lot of his time, and interruptions there were pretty much the norm. And while everyone there knew they were a pair, they still didn't actually live together. They'd decided to wait until they'd gotten married.

Squall's family was the other reason. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had needed that time to connect with them. Re-establishing his relationship with Ellone, and building one with his father Laguna had given Squall something he'd needed his whole life. Those missing pieces he'd been unconsciously searching for since he was a child had finally been found. Not to impugn Cid and Edea's care, they'd done their best; but Squall was one among several other children that the Kramers had taken in. He'd never had that sense of family with them, had always thought he was an orphan and but for Sis, was alone. Ellone was the only family he'd known at the time, and having her taken away from him at such a young age had been profoundly damaging to him. It took finding her again for those wounds to finally begin to heal.

Learning that his father was actually living and wanted to know him was an unexpected bonus.

"Did Odine tell you he wanted you back here a week before the launch?" Laguna asked.

Squall nodded, "They want to go over the Ragnarok and make sure everything's in good shape before we take off."

"Any plans while waiting for launch day?" Laguna asked.

Squall shrugged, "I hadn't really thought of anything specific. Just hang out here I guess, remote in to Garden and do whatever work needs my attention._"Spend as much time with Rinoa as possible…_ he thought, and he smiled as he felt Rinoa's warm response.

"Well, my door's always open son. Maybe we'll get the grill goin'." Laguna invited.

"Sounds like a fun idea," Rinoa said. Squall nodded in agreement, drinking down the last of his beer.

"As long as you don't burn dinner, I'm okay with it." Squall said.

Laguna looked insulted, "I never burn what I'm grilling."

"Okay, good. I had enough of trying to eat charcoal when I made the mistake of letting Irvine cook once while we were all working on defeating Ultimecia. Never again." Squall said, making a face. Rinoa and Laguna both laughed.

"Irvine's that tall Galbadian guy, right?" Laguna asked. Squall nodded.

"He can't cook _anything_. He even admits it. In fact, I think he warned me when I assigned him dinner duties that one time. Should've listened." Squall said.

"Yeah, you're right, he _did_ warn you." Rinoa chimed in.

Laguna chuckled at that, "way back in the day, Kiros and I decided to never let Ward cook for the same reason."

"I'm surprised I didn't break a tooth. After that, Zell and I, and Quistis, if she happened to be with us, took turns cooking. We had Irvine do the hunting if we needed anything besides our regular supplies. He can't cook worth a damn, but he _can_ shoot." Squall said.

Laguna nodded, "I've seen what he can do. He's a crack shot, that's for sure. I was glad to hear you guys had finally sorted out that issue with making him SeeD. He's definitely earned it." Squall nodded.

"Hey, you never told me, who'd you choose to be your best man?" Laguna asked.

"Zell and Irvine. I couldn't decide between the two of them, and they kept fighting about it so I told them to knock it off and they could both have the job." Squall answered, and then added with a smirk, "I figure there's at least half a brain between them."

"Oh, stop! You know how smart they both are, Squall!" Rinoa protested.

Squall chuckled, "Irvine, yes. Zell I sometimes worry about." Laguna raised his eyebrows at this.

"He's kidding." Rinoa said. Squall shrugged chuckling, then nodded.

"Well, I think I'm about ready for another beer. You guys want any?" Laguna asked, getting up. Rinoa and Squall both nodded.


	5. Convergence

Squall and Rinoa walked casually down the hallway to their room later that night, cuddled close together. Squall was definitely feeling amorous, and Rinoa smiled at the emotions he was giving off as he playfully nipped at her neck.

_"Feeling a little frisky are we?"_ she sent with a laugh as they reached the door.

_"More than a little. I'm so horny I could do you right here."_ He answered with a growl.

His arms came around her from behind and he nuzzled and kissed at her neck in a very distracting manner while Rinoa attempted to work the lock on the door. She shivered as his warm breath brushed her ear and his arms tightened around her. Then her knees went weak as one of his hands fondled her breast while the other splayed across her abdomen, pressing her against him. The obvious evidence of his arousal pressed against her backside and stirred her own excitement.

_"Well, the neighbors might not appreciate it… or maybe they MIGHT. Just give me a minute and I'll get the damn door open!"_ Rinoa sent, giggling as he tickled her ear.

He laughed in response, "Hurry up woman! I'm dying here!"

"Oh, stop!" She laughed, shoving him back a step. When she opened the door and walked through, Squall did his customary glance around the room. When Rinoa closed the door and turned around, she discovered that Squall had trapped her against the door by putting his hands on either side of her. He moved in close, intending to kiss her, but Rinoa suddenly reached up and ran her fingers up Squall's sides, right at his most ticklish spot. He jumped, laughing, and Rinoa ducked under his arms and dashed for the bedroom, giggling.

He caught her in just two strides, sweeping her up into his arms, saying triumphantly, "Gotcha!"

Rinoa slid her hands around the back of his neck, running her fingers through his thick, silky hair and smiled, "You sure do. What do you plan to do with me?" He bent forward and kissed her.

"Anything and everything you want me to do." He murmured.

Rinoa smiled, "sounds like you've got me right where I want you." He smiled at that statement.

_"I've been waiting for this all day. Care to pick up where we left off this morning?"_ He thought, carrying her into the bedroom and letting her slide down his body to land gently on her feet.

"Definitely." She sent, feeling both his excitement and her own arousal start to feed off of each other. She closed her eyes as his lips met hers and concentrated on not only her tactile senses, but also her other senses as well. She slid her hands up under his shirt, caressing the smooth, warm skin of Squall's back while she pulled his shirt up and off of him. Smoothing her hands down his hard-muscled chest, she kissed him in the center, and smiled as his breath caught.

Squall's hands did the same, sliding up her back underneath her shirt, undoing her bra and pulling both of them off. Then kissed her again. Passion simmered between them, ebbing and flowing, gradually building in intensity as he deepened his kisses, pulling Rinoa closer.

He pulled back for a moment, trailing kisses down her neck, nipping lightly and shivering as he felt Rinoa's reaction to it. Rinoa likewise gasped in sympathy with him when she lightly raked her fingernails down his back and nibbled at his neck. Squall's hands came up and lightly caressed Rinoa's breasts, brushing lightly over her hardening nipples before he bent down and took first one, then the other into his mouth. He smiled as he heard her sigh and he found her lips again, kissing her deeply.

Squall slid his hands down from Rinoa's breasts down her sides to her waist, continuing downward to remove her remaining clothing. Her actions mirrored his, stopping at his belt, unbuckling it and undoing his jeans. They didn't need to speak, Squall's shields were wide open so he could feel and hear everything Rinoa thought and felt, and she did the same with him. It made their lovemaking at once more intense and more intimate.

It certainly made things much more interesting as they explored each other's body.

Squall paused for a moment to sit down on the bed, kick off his shoes and finish removing his jeans while Rinoa lay down on the bed, caressing his back. Squall sent his approval of that in the form of a purr, which caused Rinoa to smile. Then he smiled back and grabbed one of her ankles, pulling it up and playfully nibbling along the inside of her leg. Feeling Rinoa thrill to that, Squall looked up and met her eyes, surprised.

_"Really?"_ He asked.

_"Oooh yes."_ She replied. He laughed wickedly at that and continued upward, spurred on by Rinoa's encouragement and the sensations she was sending him as he continued up her inner thigh. He stopped just short of her center, teasing her by turning his attention to her other leg. She sent both her frustration and building arousal, and Squall decided to go ahead and do for her what she'd done for him the previous night.

He touched her first, feeling her shudder as he stroked her intimately, delving his fingers into her slick heat,then he bent down and tasted her. Running his tongue upward, he found the tiny bundle of nerves and sucked on it. Hard. Her response was so intense Squall had to back off for a moment to catch his breath as she moaned and shuddered beneath him. It made it very difficult for him to delay his own release as Rinoa trembled in the throes of her own, but he wasn't finished with her yet. He was still hard and aching for her, and his tension fed back to Rinoa, bringing her along as he finally entered her.

They both moaned in sympathy as Squall slid into her body, experiencing not only how good it felt to _ him _ but to Rinoa as well. A double feedback loop of pleasure engulfed him from Rinoa's perspective as his sex stretched and filled her, and from his own as her body closed around him. He thrust deeply, gasped at the doubled sensation, then captured her lips once more, sliding his tongue into her mouth as he thrust and withdrew, desire driving them both.

This joining was fiery and passionate, hard and fast, with Rinoa wrapping her arms and legs around Squall and holding on tight as he drove toward his release, pulling her in and taking her with him. She shuddered, crying out as waves of intense pleasure washed over them both, and Squall followed suit, trembling right along with Rinoa with his own orgasm.

_"Oh. My…"_ Squall thought weakly as he collapsed, gasping and heart thudding heavily. He could feel Rinoa's heart pounding as well, the resonating aftershocks of their mutual climax still flowing back and forth between them. He raised himself off of Rinoa a little, stroking her hair back from her face and kissing her gently, but unwilling to withdraw completely. He relaxed as her hands roamed up and down his back, sighing and closing his eyes.

_"I think we're getting better at this."_ Squall thought.

_"You THINK?"_ Rinoa sent with amusement, and Squall laughed quietly.

_"Okay, we're definitely getting better."_ He amended.

_"If I had known our lovemaking would be like this with our minds open to each other, I would have let you know about it sooner."_ Rinoa sent.

_"I may not have been ready for it, Rin. We've been together for a while now, I trust you completely, and I've learned more about the knight and sorceress bond. It isn't as much of a shock to me as it would have been a year ago or more."_ Squall responded.

_"Well, it was certainly more intense this time around."_ Rinoa smiled, tightening her arms around Squall.

_"Incredibly. Unbelievably. Wow. Just, WOW. I could do this all night but it might just kill me."_ Squall sent with a smile. Rinoa smiled back.

_"We can't have that, can we? Maybe we should just go to sleep then, can't have you dying in my arms. That would be gross."_ Rinoa sent back, smiling.

Then Squall kissed her again, softly, gently. Then gradually worked his way back to deep and passionate. Rinoa sent her amazement as she felt him becoming aroused again, and he smiled at that.

_"I'm not tired yet. And since I'm already HERE…."_ Squall nibbled at her neck again, and in spite of herself, Rinoa shivered, her own excitement building to meet Squall's.

_"You are unbelievable."_ She managed, lightly raking her nails up and down Squall's back and smiling as he caught his breath.

_"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment."_ He sent, beginning to move within her. Rinoa suddenly found her lungs starved for air and took a deep breath as both emotional and physical sensations ebbed and flowed along with Squall's movements.

_"It was meant as one."_ She responded, then her thoughts stilled as the pleasurable feeling intensified. She moaned as Squall, at first starting slowly, gradually increased his tempo. Then something seemed to break free within her.

_"More. MORE."_ Rinoa's nails bit deeply into Squall's back as he responded to her urging, and she went wild. She scratched and bit, while Squall growled and continued thrusting, riding the dark tide of passion that had suddenly overwhelmed them both.

This time, when she came, it was with a scream. Squall's cry echoed hers as he reached his own climax moments later.

_"Holy Hyne…"_ Squall managed, collapsing on top of Rinoa, trembling and sweating in the wake of the most intense orgasm he'd yet felt. He lay limply for a moment, dragging air into his lungs and waiting for his thudding heart to return to its normal rhythm. He gradually became aware of the fact that he could feel Rinoa's heart beating as heavily as his, at the exact same time.

Finally, he found enough energy to move and he rolled off of Rinoa to sprawl onto his back next to her. His overheated body began to cool as the air conditioning kicked in and the sweat began to evaporate. He rolled his head over on the pillow next to her and smiled at her, reaching over to toy with a strand of her hair.

"Wow." He said, breathlessly.

Rinoa laughed, "You've said that before."

"It's the only word I can think of to say." He replied. Rinoa smiled and moved closer to him, snuggling along his side and resting her head on his shoulder. He obligingly pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her. They lay like that for a few moments in silence, both basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, bodies, minds and hearts still humming from its intensity.

Rinoa simply listened to Squall's heartbeat, idly running her fingers up and down his still damp chest and toying with his Griever pendant. This time however, rather than exciting him, the random patterns she traced served to relax him. She smiled as she felt him starting to get sleepy.

"Don't have it in you for another round?" she teased.

He chuckled, "not unless you really _do_ want to kill me. Sorry Rin, I'm done for the night."

"That's okay, you wore me out too." she admitted. She laughed softly as she felt his smug satisfaction at that statement.

"Good." He replied, taking the hand she'd left resting on his chest, lacing his fingers through hers, and moving their joined hands to rest over his heart.

"It might be a while before we can be together like this again, after we get back to Balamb." Squall said softly.

"I know. We'll manage. And you know now, we'll never truly be apart, right?" Rinoa said, adding mentally,_ "All you have to do is call for me. I'll always be with you."_

_"And I'll always be with you."_ He sent back. He pulled her closer and bent down to kiss her softly.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." she replied, adding, "let's go to sleep, I can already tell you're halfway there."

Squall chuckled softly, "you're right." They spent the next few minutes arranging the bedcovers and settling themselves comfortably.

"Good night, Angel. I'll see you in the morning." He whispered, kissing her temple and closing his eyes.

"Good night Squall." Rinoa replied.

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"Hey, Zell, how's the guest list coming?" Irvine asked, plopping himself down in the seat opposite the martial artist. Zell was currently working his way through a plate of hot dogs, and Irvine rolled his eyes at the young man's single-mindedness. Turning to his own dinner, Irvine waited patiently while Zell finished the bite he'd been chewing.

"Um.." Zell swallowed and took a drink before continuing, "well, so far I've got you, me, and Nida… and I couldn't think of anyone else."

Irvine sighed, "That's _it_? You've been working on this for a month! Do I have to do _everything_? Nida? And you and me? This is a party! We need more than just three guests!"

"You, me and Nida are the only guys I know that Squall actually hangs with on occasion. You know he's not Mr. Social." Zell said defensively.

"I know, but there's gotta be a few more guys we can invite along. What about Raijin?" Irvine asked.

"I don't know, I guess he could come." Zell shrugged. Raijin was okay. He wasn't exactly friends with Squall, but he got along pretty well with everyone.

"All right, who else?" Irvine prompted.

Zell's brows knitted as he thought, then he said, "Watts? They seemed to get along okay last time I saw him."

"Great! Watts always seemed like he'd be a fun guy to party with. The trick is going to be _finding_ him." Irvine grinned, then he frowned, thinking hard.

"What about Seifer?" he asked.

"Seifer? You can't be serious! They're not even friends!" Zell protested.

"Well, they aren't enemies anymore. And like it or not, Seifer is one of us. He was in the orphanage with us when we were kids. I think he should come." Irvine reasoned. He hoped it wasn't a mistake to invite him along, but after working with Seifer in Esthar and seeing him around Garden, Irvine had to acknowledge that Seifer had changed.

"Yeah, okay. I guess you're right. I hope this isn't a mistake." Zell said, echoing Irvine's thoughts.

"Hey, it's a party Zell. You know it's gonna get nuts if we do it right. So, let's see: We've got you and me, Nida, Watts, if we can find him, Raijin and Seifer. Plus Squall that makes seven." Irvine calculated, then asked Zell, "can you think of anyone else?"

"No, I think that's it." Zell said.

Then he frowned, "I still don't know how you plan on getting Squall to go along with this. What are you going to do, kidnap him?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Irvine said, grinning.

Zell's jaw dropped, "are you _kidding_? He'll kill you!"

"Trust me Zell, he won't know what hit him."

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Rinoa stood apprehensively in front of the ornate door of the Presidential Palace and bit her lip. She didn't know if she even wanted to be there or not, but she did feel like she had to be there. The exhaustive security checks that she'd had to pass through in order to get to this point however had nearly made her reconsider her action. Particularly when one of the guards had suggested that a "strip search" would speed the process along a bit. The cold anger that had simmered in the back of her mind from Squall at this had echoed her own, and he'd taken note of the man's name and ID number, intending to lodge a formal complaint. But she had persevered and fortunately, she had been recognized and the "strip search" idea had been abandoned. With just a little over a month to go until her wedding, Rinoa knew she had to come to some kind of resolution with her father. That was why she'd gone through all of this.

He had responded to their invitation, so Rinoa knew he was at least going to show up. She hoped.

_"I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you,"_ Squall sent regretfully. He was currently out on a training mission with a group of cadets and would not be home for a week.

_"It's okay. It's probably better that it's just me anyway."_ Rinoa replied. Squall's response was a mixture of annoyance at her father on her behalf and love and support for her. Rinoa sighed, feeling comforted by that and more confident as a result.

Stepping forward, she rang the bell.

Her father's aide, James, opened it.

"Miss Rinoa! How wonderful to see you!" he exclaimed.

"Hi James. Is the General here?" She asked.

"He's in his study. Come in, come in! Would you like some tea while I let him know you're here?" Her father's manservant led her to the sitting room and after assuring her that a maid would be in shortly with tea, he left.

Left alone for the moment, Rinoa sat gingerly upon the ornate couch and gazed around the room, remembering the last time she'd been there. Last year, when Squall had included her in Laguna's security escort on the diplomatic mission that had nearly taken his life. In the years since Rinoa had left home, run away, actually, she and her father had barely spoken to each other.

The night Squall had been shot, he'd tried to talk to her, but she hadn't been in a listening frame of mind. She'd been exhausted from the magic she'd used to save Squall's life and worried that it hadn't been enough to save him after all when time dragged by with Squall still unconscious.

In short, it hadn't gone well.

It didn't help when he'd exploded in anger at learning the true nature of her relationship with Squall. To his reckoning, Squall had been taking advantage of her because of her father's wealth and position. Why else would a mercenary want anything to do with General Caraway's daughter? Then there was the fact that Squall was eighteen at the time, and Rinoa was still seventeen. She was still, technically, a minor, even if she hadn't lived as a part of her father's household for over a year.

It had quickly devolved into a shouting match with Rinoa storming from the room.

It didn't matter that the reality of their situation at that time was completely different from what Caraway had surmised. Rinoa was sick of trying to explain things to her father anyway. He never listened.

Rinoa got up and restlessly wandered the room, wondering how long her father would keep her waiting. She shouldn't have been surprised; it wasn't as if she'd ever been a high priority with him.

The door opened and Rinoa turned, startled.

A maid entered with a teacart and asked, "How do you like your tea?"

Rinoa sighed. She wasn't really interested in tea, but it would at least give her something to do while she was waiting for her father.

"Milk. Two lumps." She replied. The maid fixed the tea and handed her the cup and saucer. Politely taking a sip, Rinoa nodded to the maid, who thanked her and left, leaving the teacart behind. Rinoa sighed and sat back down on the couch, putting the tea onto the coffee table in front of her. Frowning darkly at the door, Rinoa folded her arms across her chest.

She would give him five more minutes then she was outta there.

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_I, General John Richard Caraway, acting President of The Republic of Galbadia and Commander in Chief of the Galbadian Armed Forces do hereby tender my resignation effective immediately. While it has been my honor and privilege to serve as leader of our country, it is past time for me to return to my previous occupation. It is my hope that our great nation of Galbadia can move forward in electing a president truly worthy of the honor of serving our citizens. To that end, the Parliamentary Body has unanimously voted to move the general election to this coming November._

General Caraway studied the brief missive critically. He wasn't enough of a politician to inflate the word count with empty, flowery nonsense. It said what needed to be said. Now all he needed to do was to call the press conference to make the announcement.

A knock at the door to his study got his attention and he put down his letter of resignation and answered it to find his aide on the other side.

"James. I was just going to call you." The general said.

"You were sir?" his aide said, confused.

"Yes. I need you to get my press secretary to meet me in the executive office. I need to make an announcement." The general ordered.

"But, sir.." his aide began, only to be cut off by the general.

"We've already discussed this James, it's past time that I stepped down and went back to just being a general." General Caraway said.

"But, that's not what I was.." the man tried again.

"Well, what, then?" General Caraway prompted.

"Sir, your daughter is here." The aide told him.

The General frowned, "Did we send a response to her wedding invitation?"

"Yes, sir, we did." His aide answered.

"Has something happened?" He asked, concerned. The mercenary she intended to marry had a dangerous job. Had the young man been killed? He may not have liked the fellow, precisely, but he knew all too well how short a soldier's life could be. Particularly SeeDs. In doing a bit of background research on SeeD in general and Commander Leonhart in particular, he had uncovered a disturbing fact. Very, very few SeeDs ever lived to reach thirty.

Yes, they were paid well. Several times what an average soldier made. In fact, the General rather suspected but had not been able to confirm that the young commander's salary was greater than his own. But their risks were correspondingly high.

Not for the first time, the general was left confused at how his daughter, who had rebelled against everything that he stood for: military discipline and obedience to orders, could have fallen in love with a professional soldier. One who, when Caraway had first met him, had chilled him with his empty, steely gaze. At seventeen, the boy _already_ had the eyes of a killer.

"I don't believe so sir. She didn't appear upset. It's entirely possible she simply wanted to…visit." His aide replied.

The general checked his watch, "Well, I have a few minutes. Where is she?"

"In the sitting room sir." The man answered.

"Thank you James. Go ahead and forward my message to the press secretary. Tell him to meet me in about an hour." General Caraway ordered.

"Very good sir." The aide said, and left. Caraway left as well, heading toward the sitting room.

************************************************************************************************************************

Okay, that was it. Rinoa had had enough of waiting on Caraway to decide he had the time to see her. She still didn't know exactly what she'd wanted when she'd come, but left unsatisfied and oddly hurt, she stood up and turned toward the door.

Before she could move toward it however, it opened and her father walked in.

"Rinoa." He said.

Rinoa swallowed, her mouth dry, and said awkwardly, "Hi. Caraway."

The general sighed._ Can't you at least call me father?_ He knew "daddy" was too much to ask of her. He did wish that she'd at least acknowledge his paternity however. He knew the reason for their rift, and to this day did not know how to heal it. Their issues had existed long before Rinoa had gotten involved with Leonhart.

"How is…everything?" he asked, studying her. His heart ached at how much she resembled her mother, Julia. It was startling to see how she'd matured into the beauty that he'd known she would be. Her inky, blue-black hair had grown longer, he noticed. The caramel highlights that she'd added were still there, however.

She was casually dressed in jeans and a wine-red top. The dramatic color suited her pale skin and dark eyes. It wasn't hard to see Leonhart's attraction to her.

"Fine. I was in town, doing some shopping. You know, for the wedding. I thought I'd stop in…" Rinoa said, letting her voice trail off, not sure where to go from there.

"Is Leonhart with you?" Caraway asked, looking around.

"No. He's on a training exercise with some cadets." She answered. Her father nodded.

"Wedding plans going okay?" He asked, feeling awkward. He was trying, but the older Rinoa got, the harder it became for him to relate to her as his daughter. He remembered with a pang holding her tiny hand in his when she was a child. Now he was losing her for good. It didn't matter that he'd essentially ordered young Leonhart to take care of her when they'd first met and he'd seen whom Rinoa had fallen in with. She was still his daughter, and he still loved her, difficult as it was for him to show it.

"Yes. They're fine." She fell silent. Did she want him to escort her the altar or not? She still wasn't sure. She didn't know if her hesitation at asking stemmed from her fear that he wouldn't be able or willing to do it, or that he would.

"Good." He answered. The awkward silence stretched until the general cleared his throat.

"I, uh. I have a press conference coming up." He began, and then stopped as he saw the confused and hurt expression that Rinoa couldn't hide. _Please, please tell me what you want Rinoa._ He begged her silently.

She nodded and looked away, "I'd better go then."

"I'm resigning. Effective today." He told her. Rinoa stared at him.

"What? Why?" She asked. Was he just resigning from acting as president or was he resigning his commission as well and retiring completely?

The general sighed and ran his fingers through his salt and peppered hair. It was now more liberally silvered than it had been three years ago. The demands of rebuilding his country and getting it ready to stand on its own again had added more and more silver strands to it every year. He was tired. It was time for someone else to do the job.

"I want my life back Rinoa. I never wanted to be president or, what the less charitable called me, Dictator. When President Deling was killed, no one else had the spine to take over. Anyone with a backbone had already either had that beaten out of them by his thugs or had been forgotten in the D-district prison. I had to do something. So, when it all fell apart, I did my best to put it back together." Caraway explained.

Rinoa watched him in silence, memories that she hadn't understood as a child coming to the surface and being shown in a new light. Her father, militarily stiff and rigid, the perfect Galbadian soldier to her way of thinking, somehow always getting the worst assignments. Advancing slowly, painfully to General despite the fact that it didn't seem that those who made such promotions had held him in high esteem. Such as the President himself. Caraway had made no secret of his dislike of his commander in chief, but had swallowed his pride on more than one occasion to follow the man's often-spurious orders.

It was no secret that Deling's ironhanded rule had included his adherents as well as his enemies. It was also no secret that his favorite leverage had been to threaten the families of those who opposed him. But, it had never occurred to Rinoa that she and her mother might also have been threatened by Deling in order to secure her father's obedience.

"He threatened us, didn't he? Mother and I?" Rinoa asked, eyes glistening.

"Yes. I opposed his invasion of Timber; I thought it was a pointless waste of resources. To this day, I don't fully believe your mother's death was an accident." He answered quietly.

"You hired SeeD to kill Edea." Rinoa stated, coming to a startling realization that in his own way, her father had been fighting the same battle that Rinoa had against Vinzer Deling. Just from a different front.

"Yes. Something had to be done. It turned out to be a failure, but even I knew it wasn't your young SeeD's fault. It all came out well in the end however, eventually." He answered.

"I didn't understand," Rinoa whispered.

"You were a child. You shouldn't have had to." Caraway said quietly.

Rinoa took a deep breath and blinked the tears from her eyes. Then walking a few steps away with her arms wrapped around herself, she turned and faced her father again.

"All this time," She whispered, "All this time, I thought you were just another one of Deling's lackeys. I thought you were just blindly following his orders without thinking of the consequences, without thinking about the people he was hurting…"

"I _couldn't_ think about them. I was thinking of you and your mother. I was doing whatever I had to, to keep the two of you safe. I almost failed." He said, looking away.

He returned his gaze to Rinoa again, and they looked at each other, silent, neither quite sure how to bridge the gulf of pain that lay between them. He wasn't quite the hero that Rinoa had thought he was as a child; nor was he the monster she'd considered him to be as a teenager. She knew, now, that he'd done what he had to do to protect his family. To protect_ her_. Even if it alienated her in the process.

Finally, Rinoa asked him, "What are you going to do, after your resignation? Retire?"

"Perhaps. Maybe I'll take up golf. Seems to be the thing to do for all the other old warhorses I've talked to." The general replied.

Just then, the general's aide arrived at the doorway, saying, "Sir, the press secretary is in the executive office."

"Thank you James." The general acknowledged. Then he looked over at Rinoa and sighed. There was still something hanging between them. Unfortunately, time was not on their side. It never had been.

"I have to go Rinoa." He said.

She nodded, arms still wrapped around herself. Then she looked up at him and took a shaky breath. _Ask him now_.

"Um… Would you.." she stopped, biting her lip briefly before continuing, "would you like to escort me down the aisle? At my wedding, I mean."

General Caraway stared at her, surprised. Then he quickly looked away, eyes suspiciously bright.

Clearing his throat, he answered roughly, "I'd be honored."

Sighing in relief, Rinoa smiled at him and his eyes stung all over again at how much she looked like her mother in that moment._ They had the same smile_. He thought.

"Okay. Good. Well, I'd better get going. I'll see you later… dad." Rinoa said, smiling. Then she left.


	6. Transitional Space

Chapter 6: Transitional Space

 

 

"So, how'd the visit with your father go?" Selphie asked as she poked through the offerings in the bridal shop where she and Rinoa were browsing. It was one of the more exclusive boutiques in Deling City, and they had just completed Rinoa's final fitting of the wedding dress she would wear. They were currently in the lingerie section looking over the negligees, bras and suspender belts, with Rinoa trying to decide on what she wanted to wear under her wedding dress.

"It was… good. Better than I'd thought actually." She admitted. She still wasn't quite ready to admit that she still loved her father, but she did at least acknowledge that she wanted him in her life. They'd just have to work through the rest gradually.

"I asked him to walk me down the aisle." She said quietly. Selphie stopped and put the baby doll dress she'd been studying back on the rack.

"What did he say?" Selphie asked, hoping that Rinoa's father hadn't let her down again.

"That he'd be honored." Rinoa answered.

"That's great Rin!" Selphie smiled, flinging her arms around her in an enthusiastic hug. Rinoa smiled back.

"Yeah, I think it will be too. I was kind of surprised though, when he said yes." Rinoa said.

"He isn't going to be too busy is he? He's still acting president," Selphie began, but Rinoa shook her head.

"He resigned. As of yesterday, he's just General Caraway." Rinoa said.

"Really? Wow. I wonder why he decided to do it now? I mean, they have the election scheduled for next November." Selphie said, frowning.

"They moved it up to this November." Rinoa said.

"Well, it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. What's your father going to do now?" Selphie asked.

"He said he was thinking about taking up golf." Rinoa smiled.

"Sounds fun. Well, he's definitely earned a rest, with all he's managed to do in the last three years." Selphie commented, turning back to the frothy offerings in front of them. Picking out a beautiful, white, lacy item, she held it up against Rinoa frowning in concentration.

"This looks nice. What do you think?" she asked. Rinoa took it from her and held it up, studying it critically. It certainly would work with the dress, and while it didn't exactly look _comfortable_, it _was_ sexy as hell. Smiling at the curious inquiries she was receiving from Squall, she tightened her barriers and simply told him she was shopping. She wanted to surprise him with this, if she could, so on _this_ trip at least, she had kept her shields firmly shut.

"I think this will do nicely. Now we need to find stockings to go with it." Rinoa said, draping the item over her arm and heading toward the hosiery section. That was easier, and Rinoa quickly settled on a pair of sheer, white silk, lace-topped thigh-high stockings.

"Well," she sighed, "that takes care of the wedding night."

Grinning impishly, Selphie asked, "What are you going to wear for the rest of the honeymoon?"

"Ideally, nothing," Rinoa quipped, sending Selphie into paroxysms of laughter. Rinoa joined her and it was several minutes before they brought themselves back under control.

Wiping her eyes and still giggling, Selphie said, "Seriously, what are you going to wear?"

Smiling back, Rinoa made her way back to the lingerie section and said, "I don't know yet, but let's go see what we can find."

They spent the next few minutes giggling over some of the more outrageous items they saw, with Rinoa finally deciding on a few more pieces. One of them, a dramatic black and red merry widow, had Selphie gasping for air as she laughed hysterically.

"Oh I would just LOVE to see Squall's face when he gets a look at you in _this!_ Go try it on!" She urged. They headed toward the changing room and Selphie stationed herself outside while Rinoa tried on the garment.

It was very snug, and not terribly comfortable, but Rinoa didn't figure to be wearing it for an extended period of time. What it did for her figure however was downright amazing. She was reminded of an image in a certain magazine that Squall had steadfastly denied ever owning, despite the fact that she'd seen it in his possession for quite awhile before he gave it to Watts.

"So? Does it fit? How's it look Rin?" Selphie's voice broke through her reverie.

Opening the door, Rinoa posed and let Selphie get a good look before saying; "it fits like a glove and it looks pretty damn good, if you ask me."

Selphie's jaw dropped and she said, "WOW! You ain't kidding! This'll knock Squall dead for sure!"

"Okay, I guess that's a yes for this one then," Rinoa said, closing the door and changing back into her regular clothing.

Adding it to the pile, they continued shopping, with Rinoa adding a pair of black lace stockings, a sapphire blue silk nightdress and a gorgeous black silk robe, complete with an embroidered rendering of a water dragon on the back.

"Huh," said Selphie, studying it, "looks like leviathan."

Rinoa nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, it does."

Then she asked, "Did you want anything, maybe for a special evening with…who are you dating now?"

Selphie shrugged awkwardly, "Rennan. Remember? That cute Trabian transfer?"

"Oh, yeah. So, you want to get something racy for a special night out with him?" Rinoa asked with a wink.

Selphie blushed, "Rinoa! We haven't gotten that far yet, it's only been a couple of weeks!"

"So? Save it for later then." Rinoa suggested. Selphie looked thoughtful.

"Okay… and I know just the thing!" she said, hurrying back to the lingerie racks and quickly coming back with an emerald green strapless corset and panty set.

Rinoa raised her eyebrows, commenting, "Nice." _ Too bad about her and Irvine, I really thought that they'd make it work._ Rinoa sighed silently at that, for she'd been rooting for them. But honestly, Irvine was still a little too in love with his freedom to be pinned down, and Selphie had gotten tired of his freewheeling, flirtatious manner. So, they'd parted ways a few months back.

_ Come to think of it, they broke off their relationship not long after Squall and I were kidnapped._ Rinoa wondered about that. She didn't think those events had anything to do with it, but you never could tell how a person would react to a situation like that.

Since they were no longer dating each other, both Selphie and Irvine seemed bent on dating every member of the opposite gender that they possibly could. Irvine in particular had begun living up to his reputation as a playboy, squiring an attractive young woman around just about every weekend. He had become a weekly fixture in the local gossip pages of late. Selphie was a little more circumspect, but even _she_ showed up there on occasion.

While Rinoa appreciated the fact that her friends' activities directed the attention of the gossip rags away from her and Squall, she couldn't help but sense that there was something still between those two. Irvine was obviously not ready yet to face it and acknowledge it, and Selphie had gotten tired of waiting for him. Perhaps, given time, he'd grow up and figure out what it was that he was looking for and go after it, before it was too late.

After paying for their purchases, with Selphie protesting that Rinoa didn't have to pay for hers as well, they headed toward Rinoa's favorite café for lunch.

It was situated just off the main drag half a block from the Galbadian Hotel. The outdoor patio was liberally bedecked with flowers, and handsome wrought iron chairs and glass-topped tables were spaced about the red brick floored space. Each table was shaded by a cream-colored canvas umbrella that adjusted along with the angle of the sun for maximum comfort. Selphie and Rinoa were ushered to a corner table with a thick screen of fragrant flowers to give them a little privacy from the passersby on the street.

"I still don't think you should have paid for this Rin, I may not even _use_ it." Selphie said, frowning as she studied the menu.

"Call it a gift for my maid of honor then. I'm allowed to do that, you know, I'm the bride." Rinoa said, affecting a slightly huffy manner.

Selphie laughed at that, saying, "if you're trying to convince me you're Miss Bridezilla from Hell, it isn't working."

Rinoa grimaced playfully, "Yeah, I guess I need to work on that a little."

When the waitress came they placed their orders and Selphie asked, "So when's Squall getting back?"

"He'll be back in three days. I can't wait. If it weren't for you Selphie, I'd be going crazy from boredom and loneliness." Rinoa confessed.

"Hey, what are friends for, right? Besides, the 'maid of honor' handbook states that it is my primary duty to keep the bride, _you_, sane, _and_ to help with the planning process of the wedding." Selphie said with a wink, digging into her salad when it arrived.

Rinoa raised her glass of iced tea in a salute and pronounced, "Mission accomplished, Miss Tilmitt. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I couldn't do it without you."

"So, when do you two take off for Esthar?" Selphie asked, curiously. She'd been following the news and getting the behind-the-scenes version from Rinoa about Squall's special project for the Estharian Government.

Rinoa grimaced, "As soon as Squall gets back. In fact, the very next day."

"Not much time for a reunion, " Selphie commented with a frown.

"No," Rinoa agreed, then added, "but we'll have a week to relax in Esthar before Squall actually goes up to the Lunar Base location with his crew."

"Oh, I see. I guess Squall's going to be working remotely while he's there, right?" Selphie asked.

Rinoa nodded, "He'll be checking his email periodically, and of course he has his cell phone with him all the time too, so he'll be in touch with everyone."

Then Selphie suddenly gave Rinoa a mischievous grin and said, "Hey, maybe you'll be able to take one of those sexy nighties or teddies with you for a test run!"

Rinoa laughed, "That's tempting but I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, would I? If he sees that I've bought new lingerie, maybe the wedding night won't be as much fun for him."

"Are you kidding? You'll have his imagination working overtime until then. The anticipation alone would drive him nuts!" Selphie giggled. Rinoa joined her in laughter, agreeing with her.

"Maybe I'll take just_ one_ of them then…" Rinoa said, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

 

************************************************************************************************************************

Three days later...

 

Rinoa waited impatiently as she saw the Ragnarok maneuvering for a landing just outside Balamb Garden. The setting sun of early evening glittered off of the bright red ship as it hovered, lowering its landing gear. The shopping trip with Selphie in Deling City and the meeting with her father had helped to divert her a little while Squall was away, but she had missed him terribly and was eager to see him again. He'd only been gone a week, but it had been the longest week of Rinoa's life.

At length, the great dragonship settled gently onto the Alcauld Plains next to Garden, and the doors hissed open, the boarding ramp extending outward and down. Then the senior cadets that Squall had taken with him on the training exercise began leaving the ship along with some of the instructors that had come along.

Finally, Squall himself emerged, duffel bag slung over one shoulder and gunblade case in hand, striding with smooth confidence down the ramp and toward Garden. Toward her.

She had promised herself that she would walk toward him instead of running and throwing herself exuberantly into his arms like she usually did. He would likely be tired and not terribly appreciative of having his fiancée cannonball into him, forcing him to catch her or fall over.

She tried, she truly did. But the closer she got to him, the more eager she became to feel his arms around her, his lips on hers… She barely acknowledged the greetings of the cadets as she passed them, jogging toward Squall. Several of them stopped and watched, grinning.

Squall, who by now had seen her coming, stopped and waited for her, and she felt his amusement at her eagerness. _"Missed me, did you?"_

_ "You know I did."_ She sent back as she drew closer.

_ "Well, come here then." _ He replied, putting his gunblade case down, aqua eyes sparkling as she finally reached him and stopped, walking the last few strides into his embrace. They simply held each other tightly for a moment, glad to be together again.

_ "I've missed you too, angel."_ His mind whispered to hers, and he kissed her. Thoroughly. Deeply. And so single-mindedly, he didn't appear to notice the wolf whistles and catcalls from the watching cadets.

They parted reluctantly, both agreeing that if the kiss had gone on any longer, the watching cadets would have gotten more of a show than they were bargaining for. As it was, Squall needed a moment, resting his forehead against Rinoa's and smiling into her eyes, to catch his breath and bring his heart rate back into normal range.

In unspoken accord, Squall picked up his gunblade case again, transferring it to his other hand and putting his free arm around Rinoa's shoulders.

Finally Squall spoke, asking her, "So. Have fun in Deling City?" Rinoa nodded, frowning as she felt regret coming from Squall.

"Yeah. Caraway…_Dad_…is walking me down the aisle. We had a talk, and… I learned a few things I didn't know before. Selphie and I went shopping; the fitting for the dress is done…Squall? Is something wrong?" She asked, feeling the regret deepen.

He sighed, "Nothing serious. I just have a million reports and evaluations I need to get done tonight before we leave for Esthar."

"A _million_? I thought you only had twelve cadets with you on this trip." Rinoa said with a smirk.

"_Felt_ like a million," he groused. They continued into Garden and down the hallway to Squall's apartment.

"Were they _that_ bad?" Rinoa asked, amused. Squall didn't do training exercises like this often; usually the instructors simply hiked the cadets into the area in and around Garden. This time however, the Ragnarok was needed to take the cadets and instructors to their planned destination as it was too far for a simple hike. And Quistis had prevailed upon Squall to take over instructor duties for her because the bulk of the cadets going were gunbladers.

"Not _bad_ precisely," Squall grimaced. Despite the respect the cadets gave him, they were still basically kids, teens really, and the trip and the fill-in instructor that had gone along with them excited all of them.

"Just a little excitable, and correspondingly inattentive. And we had the bad luck to run into a blue dragon, which nearly killed us all before the instructors and I took care of it." Squall sighed.

"Rough trip then?" Rinoa asked, sympathetically.

"Yeah. Now I've got hours worth of paperwork to do as a result." He replied tiredly as they finally made it to his apartment. He dropped his duffel and put down his gunblade case, leaning his forehead against Rinoa's again, and bringing his hands up to either side of her face, caressing her cheeks and running his fingers back into her hair.

_ "I want nothing more than to make love to you all night."_ His mind whispered into hers, desire and disappointment coloring his statement. He gazed into her eyes in silence, conveying more by the simple glance than he could in words or even thoughts.

_"Stay here. Wait for me.."_ His thoughts whispered again.

Rinoa nodded,_ "Do you have to leave now? We could take a little time for ourselves, couldn't we?"_

Squall sighed, and smiled at her,_ "You know once we get started we won't want to stop…"_

Rinoa laughed, kissing him, "You're right. We have been rather… combustible… lately, haven't we?"

Squall nodded, pulling her into his arms again and holding her tightly.

"Are you packed?" He asked softly. She nodded.

"How about you bring your stuff over and we'll leave from here?" Squall suggested.

"Okay." She answered. He smiled at her, and then gave her a final, lingering kiss before regretfully stepping back and turning toward the door.

"Don't forget to eat dinner," she chided him as he left.

"I won't. I'll be back as soon as I can." He told her.

 

************************************************************************************************************************

 

Squall blinked his blurring eyes and scrubbed his hands down his face, fighting off fatigue as he worked on his final evaluation. The full report of the training mission was already completed, now he had to give his opinion on each cadet and the instructors that had gone on the mission and offer both critique and praise of their actions. Twelve cadets. Four instructors. Sixteen evaluations in all. It had taken him longer to complete them all than he'd thought it would.

At least this time, he'd actually listened to Rinoa's admonition to remember to eat dinner. That had sustained him throughout the rest of the evening as he worked steadily, not only on the reports and evaluations, but also the other mounds of paperwork that had accumulated in his absence.

Squinting at the clock, Squall sighed. It was just past midnight and Rinoa was likely asleep. Yawning and stretching, he focused on his work again and read through it for what seemed to be the hundredth time. It was done. And even if it wasn't,_ he_ certainly was.

Putting the sheaf of papers into a folder with the rest of them, Squall put it all away with a note to Quistis of where to find it. Then he stood up, rotated his neck to loosen the tension (it cracked, loudly) and started to leave. Instinctively he reached out to Rinoa to see if she was still awake and to let her know he was on his way back.

The response he got was…. Unexpected.

A rush of breath-stealing passion, groin-tightening lust, lightened with a sweeter rush of love greeted him and left him gasping for air. Hard upon this sending came images of an extremely erotic nature, with Rinoa and himself as the focus.

_"Rin?? You didn't start without me, did you?"_ He sent, feeling a mixture of confusion, disappointment, frustration and lust. When she didn't answer, he touched her mind again, and realized in chagrin that she _was_ in fact, asleep. And dreaming… very sensual dreams, about _him_.

He wanted to both laugh and scream. A solid week without her in the company of hormone saturated teenagers (himself included, if he was to be honest), six solid hours of mind-numbing work with no break in between, and finally, _finally_, he could be with her. And she was asleep, and driving him _crazy_ with her dreams. While the images she was conjuring were _very_ intriguing, they were also making him _very_ uncomfortable.

Although…He let out a breath at a particularly fascinating image. They'd have to try that. Soon. It was with a great deal of regret that he raised his shields and left his office. It was either that, or run the risk of being unable to _walk _ comfortably for the next few minutes.

Then he grimaced. Too late.

He walked back to his apartment through the now quiet hallways of Balamb Garden and sighed in relief as the physical exertion worked the edge off of his sudden, _unanswered_ arousal. Fortunately, by the time he made it home, his blood had cooled and his fatigue had returned.

 

Quietly, he opened the door to his apartment and made his way through the darkened rooms, finally taking off his field uniform on the way to the bedroom, tossing it into the hamper for cleaning at his next opportunity. It was while he was brushing his teeth that he noticed, in the light from the bathroom, a patch of liquid blackness with a sea serpent embroidered in brilliant blue upon it, thrown across the foot of his bed, where Rinoa still slept.

Rinsing his mouth, he went over to the bed and picked it up for a better look, and smiled. It was a beautiful silk robe, obviously one of the purchases she had made in Deling City. Folding it carefully, enjoying the feel of the silk under his hands, he laid it aside. Then he turned off the bathroom light and got into bed, slipping his arms around Rinoa and sighing as she snuggled close.

He ran his hand down her abdomen, feeling more silk, wondering what the rest of the outfit looked like. Then, inhaling the scent of her hair, he kissed the back of her neck softly and closed his eyes, asleep in moments.

 

************************************************************************************************************************

 

 

Rinoa yawned and stretched, waking slowly. When she rolled over she smiled at seeing Squall still sleeping next to her. _He must have been really tired last night,_ she thought. That was the only reason that she could think of that would have _her_ waking up before _him_.

She had tried to wait up for him, putting on the pretty nightgown she'd gotten in Deling City. Unfortunately, she also had been very tired; a result of not sleeping well for the last several days. Having gotten used to being with him either physically or mentally, and spending the night with him more often than not, Rinoa found that she couldn't sleep well with him out of contact.

She brushed the surface of his mind lightly to find him still sleeping soundly, and oddly, his mental shield firmly in place. She settled down and watched him sleep as he had done more than once to her, and found that she agreed with his fascination with that function.

He breathed deeply and evenly; lying slightly curled on his side with his face snuggled into his pillow. Both hands were up by his face, evidence that at some point during the night, he'd scrunched his pillow under his head until it was comfortable. The bedcovers, due perhaps to her movements or his own, had moved down, leaving his upper chest and arms bare.

Rinoa found it interesting that Squall, despite his trust issues and general, innate wariness, had slept with his back to her. He had told her more than once that he trusted her. This was physical proof.

So far, all she could see of him was his shock of tousled, coppery brown hair and his smooth, lean back. That wasn't the view that she wanted however, and the remnants of an absolutely _glorious_ dream she'd had featuring them both, spurred her into action.

Moving closer, she gave in to the urge to touch him and pressed close against his back, slipping her hand along his side. Starting from a lean, hair-roughened thigh, up over his shorts to his waist, then around to his lower abdomen and up to his chest, Rinoa's hand wandered where it would. She enjoyed the contrast from rough hair to smooth skin, swirling her fingers through the sparse hair at his navel and upward where it disappeared entirely

He took a deep breath and shifted, waking up. Grasping her hand and threading his fingers through hers, he brought their joined hands to his lips, kissing her hand softly. Then he pressed it close to his chest.

"You're awake?" Rinoa asked quietly, breath tickling the back of his neck. Squall swallowed, heat rocketing to his groin.

"Yes." He whispered, but he didn't move.

_"Don't stop what you're doing."_ His mind sent to hers.

Rinoa knew that the moment she touched him, he'd wake up. Squall was a light sleeper. Emboldened by his encouragement, Rinoa began to gently kiss the back of his neck, caressing his chest. She worked her way forward and began kissing and nuzzling along his neck and under his ear, taking it into her mouth and sucking on it gently. She smiled as Squall took a shuddering breath and a low, sexy growl rumbled deep in his chest.

Rolling onto his back, Squall extended both arms and legs into a full stretch, then draped an arm around Rinoa, pulling her close and kissing her, his other hand caressing her face and hair. She opened her mouth and allowed him access, and he deepened the kiss.

Breaking off the kiss, Rinoa molded her body to Squall's side, sliding her leg over his and moving it slowly up and down over his legs, while kissing his chest and moving her hand downward. Only then, did she fully open the connection between their minds, showing him what she intended, and what she wanted.

The small sound he made when she slipped her hand under his shorts and began to stroke and caress him made her breath hitch. His arousal fed into hers, and the long week that they had endured without each other made both of their needs even more intense, more urgent.

Squall laid his head back into the pillow and closed his eyes, swallowing convulsively as he gave himself up to Rinoa's ministrations. The feel of her hand stroking him slowly, the sweet friction of her leg moving up and down against his, the heat of her body pressed against him, her lips on his chest, teeth lightly scraping his nipple, was driving him to the brink already and they'd only just begun. Oh, how he'd missed her.

Finally, he couldn't take any more and he reached down and grabbed her hand, stilling its motion.

_ "Not yet. Please, not yet…"_ the fragment of thought from Squall's normally organized mind made Rinoa smile slyly. Agreeing that she, _they_, were not ready to conclude their interlude just yet, she released him and instead drew his shorts off, taking the bedding with them. She wanted to see him. _All_ of him. She wanted to simply survey his male beauty, enjoying the thought that it was hers to do with as she wished. He smiled as he caught that thought.

_"Yes, it is. What do you plan to do with me?"_

Rinoa answered him by sliding over on top of him, straddling his hips and kissing him again. He arched himself against her, feeling her moist, slick heat against his aching shaft and wanting to be inside her more than he wanted his next breath. He smoothed his hands up her thighs to her hips, grasping them tightly, guiding her. Slowly, maddeningly, she lowered herself onto him, and he groaned as he slipped into her body.

Breaking off her kiss, she sat up, raking her nails lightly down his chest and enjoying what she saw. His turquoise eyes were half closed and glittering as they gazed into hers, his head still back against his pillow, and his breathing ragged as she began to move. He swallowed convulsively and she smiled at the effect she had upon him, the power she wielded as his lover.

He reached up, sliding his hands lightly up her arms to her shoulders, pulling the thin straps of her silken shift down to bare her breasts.

Rinoa smiled at him. _"Enjoying the view?"_

_"Oh hell yes."_ He sent, smiling back at her. The thin, silky slip-thing she was wearing was a beautiful jewel blue color and she looked stunning in it.. And even _more_ stunning half out of it.

He cupped both of her breasts and Rinoa arched her back, throwing her head back and rocking harder against his pelvis. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. A similar thought from her about him prompted him to sit up suddenly and wrap his arms around her, kissing her fiercely. He couldn't simply lie passive underneath her any longer; his need was too great for that.

His strong arms pressed her close, supporting her back and caressing her as he trailed hot kisses down Rinoa's throat to her collarbone, trailing his tongue between her breasts before suckling and nipping gently at her nipples. A deep, shuddering moan from her coaxed a growl from him as she tangled her hands into his hair and held his face to her chest while moving harder and faster with him. He moved his hands down to her hips, grabbing her buttocks and helping her along.

_"Hyne…"_

_"God…. Soo good…."_

_"I'm gonna.."_

_"…. Missed you…"_

_" I love you so much..."_

Fragments of thoughts flew between them as they drove each other toward ecstasy, neither of them knowing or caring from whom they originated.

Squall felt the tension in both her mind and body suddenly break free in deep, pulsing shudders as she climaxed, crying out his name in a long, ragged gasp. The feel of her gripping and pulsing around him brought him to his own release and Squall wrapped his arms around Rinoa, nearly crushing her against him as he trembled and shook, breathing raggedly and raining kisses all over her face and neck.

Finally, he lay back down onto the bed, taking Rinoa with him. She lay resting on his chest, still joined with him, as he softly stroked her hair.

Kissing the top of her head gently, he laughed breathlessly and said, "Good morning, angel." Then he added mentally, _"I'll have to sleep in more often if you wake me up like THIS."_

_"See what you miss when you get up early?"_ She smiled, kissing his chest and hugging him.

_"I'm beginning to."_ He sent, hugging her back. They lay in silence, simply listening to each other's heartbeat, the familiar magic generated by their lovemaking flowing between them in a humming counter point.

At length, Squall said, "we need to get up and get going."

"Yeah." Rinoa sighed, snuggling closer into his chest and kissing it.

"Rin.." Squall said, himself reluctant to withdraw from her and lose the magic of the moment.

"I know." She sighed, moving slowly off of him. He watched her leave the bed, pulling the straps of her shift back into place. It looked sexy as hell on her, and he hoped that she'd bring it with her.

After a few minutes of listening to the water of his shower running and feeling and seeing Rinoa washing up in his mind, Squall could take no more and he got up to join her.

He felt both her amusement and building excitement as he slipped into the shower and simply watched her for a moment, drinking in the sight of the water cascading down her body. The rivulets highlighted her gentle curves; the flare of her hips, her rounded bottom, the firm swell of her breasts.

Then he moved toward her and slipped his arms around her from behind, drinking the water from the skin at the junction of her neck and shoulder, kissing his way upward to her earlobe and feeling her shudder as he fondled one of her breasts with one hand, pinching the nipple lightly, while the other wandered downward.

_"My turn,"_ He thought wickedly. The resulting rush of excitement and lust from her left him aching.

Rinoa moaned, struggling for air as his touch set her nerves aflame again. His clever fingers found their way into her sex, already moist and waiting for him. Her knees went weak when he touched the bundle of nerves at her core and she gasped. Squall's arms tightened around her, supporting her and pressing her against him, where she could feel how hard and ready _he_ was for _her_.

Angling her forward to allow better access, Squall nipped sharply at her neck and shoulder while he sought and found her moist entrance, sliding home, sheathing himself deep within her. Then he began to move, timing his thrusts with the strokes of his fingers over the bud at her center, stealing her breath and driving her wild.

Rinoa's mind went completely blank as he continued his assault upon her senses. Squall, now becoming used to feeling her perspective as well as his own, was better able to read and act upon Rinoa's needs and desires as well as his own. He knew the right pressure, the right touch, the right place, and the right pace, and he played her body like a finely tuned instrument, fascinated and excited by the responses he elicited.

When her cries reached a throaty crescendo, when the tension he felt within her increased to the point of near pain, echoing the sweet agony Squall himself felt, he knew, one final thrust would be all it would take for them to explode together. He made that final thrust, deep and hard, and Rinoa came apart in his arms with a trembling cry, with Squall following her.

In the aftermath of their mutual climax, it was all Squall could do to stand upright upon legs that had suddenly turned to water, while Rinoa had gone completely limp in his arms, still trembling.

"You okay Rin?" He murmured into the side of her neck, kissing it gently.

"OH, God yes..." She answered, still breathless, still panting.

"Did I mention how much I've missed you?" He asked, cheek against hers. Rinoa smiled at the prickly itch of his still unshaven stubble, and rubbed her cheek against it, enjoying the slight abrasion.

"At least twice now," she laughed softly. Squall smiled.

"The water is getting cold." Squall observed.

"Then we'd better finish up in here.." Rinoa said.

Squall gave a low, sexy laugh and said, "I thought we just did."

Rinoa laughed in response and looked back over her shoulder at him, "you know what I mean."

Squall captured her lips in a soft kiss before replying, "yes, I do. You want me to scrub your back for you?"

"Sure, might as well make yourself useful while you're back there." Rinoa said. Squall snorted and reached forward for her sponge.

In no time it seemed, they were strapping themselves into their seats on the Ragnarok and Squall was punching in the codes to direct it toward Esthar and the Airstation. If there was a specific time that they'd needed to be there, Squall hadn't mentioned it. Then again, even if there had been, Rinoa got the idea that Squall would have, just this once, ignored it until he'd finished with her.

There was something to be said for those occasional separations that she and Squall had to endure from time to time as part of his work. It was all the sweeter when they reunited.


	7. Ghost in the Machine

Chapter 7: Ghost In The Machine

"Esthar Airstation this is Ragnarok, Squall Leonhart commanding. We are requesting clearance for launch." Squall spoke into the microphone; hailing the airstation as he typed in the commands to start the systems checks that he knew would be required prior to launch.

The radio crackled to life and replied, "Copy Ragnarok, please commence systems check."

"Systems check initiated." Squall confirmed, reading out the data that scrolled up on the computer screen and on the various dials and gauges. Everything read out fine, and Squall reported it back to Airstation Control.

"Commence ignition Ragnarok." Airstation Control told him.

"Copy." Squall pressed the appropriate button and the engines began to power up. Glancing back over his shoulder at the rest of the crew, Squall assured himself that everyone was securely strapped in.

"Ragnarok. You are cleared for launch. Godspeed, all of you."

Squall punched in the final codes and the airship lifted itself off of the landing pad, retracting its landing gear at the same time. Once the ship had ascended high enough, Squall engaged the main rockets.

The powerful airship leaped forward, soaring through the sky, angling upward as Squall typed in more commands. The speed increased gradually and as the ship's angle approached vertical, the booster rockets engaged with a roar.

The increasing g-forces pressed Squall back into his seat and the ship went into a roll as it had done before, slicing through the final layer of the atmospheric envelope and out.

As soon as he felt the shift from crushing gravitational force to none at all, Squall cut the booster rockets and engaged the gravity generator.

"Airstation Control, this is Ragnarok. We have successfully launched and I am inputting the coordinates for the remains of the Lunar Base." Squall reported.

"Copy Ragnarok. Inform us when you've reached it. And please activate the external cameras now." Airstation control responded.

"Copy. External cameras activated. Live feed initiated." Squall said. The internal cameras were _already_ activated, much to Squall's annoyance. He'd been told that people had wanted to see the launch from his perspective. Whatever.

Looking back over his shoulder again at the crew, Squall addressed them, "the gravity's been engaged, and we should be at the Lunar Base's last location shortly." Unbuckling his restraints, Squall stood up, stretching.

For him, the rest of this trip would be mostly about waiting. Piet and the rest of the technicians would be the ones to do the EVA's required to search the wreckage for anything that could be salvaged and to retrieve the casualties left behind.

Remaining on board with him with that part of the trip in mind was a physician and his assistant, who would be acting as both ship's doctor and medical examiner. One of the bays in the belly of the Ragnarok had been temporarily converted to a morgue to accommodate them and the bodies that they would finally be returning to their families.

Approaching the man, Squall said, "Dr. Sheppard, you and your assistant may want to go to the morgue and make sure everything's ready. Let me know if there are any problems. Better to find them out now than after we start bringing the bodies on board."

"Yes, sir." The doctor responded, saluting Squall. Then he and his assistant left.

Squall frowned after them. The "sir" part he understood. He was used to that. But being saluted by civilians?_ That_ was distinctly odd. Then again, this_ was_ Esthar. Pretty much_ everything_ about Esthar was odd.

Squall had mostly gotten used to the general weirdness, but every so often, something would come up to throw him for a loop. As an example, just out of curiosity, Squall had checked into marriage laws there… and had been surprised at how _liberal_ they were._ Any_ citizen who wanted to get married in Esthar could. No restrictions…. of _any_ sort.

As Laguna's son, Squall had, unknown to him, (at least until Laguna had told him) been granted full citizenship. Even though he was only a part-time resident (less really, if one were honest). If Squall wanted to, he could legally marry Rinoa there._ Or_, if he wanted to, he could marry_ Irvine_. Or…_both_. That concept took awhile for Squall to wrap his head around.

Not that he was_at all_ interested in anyone other than Rinoa, of course.

That whole citizenship question_ did _concern him a little bit, however. As a SeeD mercenary, he couldn't be seen as being tied to any given nation. SeeDs had to be neutral in order to do their jobs. If the subject of citizenship arose when applied to a SeeD, it reverted to their Garden of Origin. In Squall's case, it was Balamb Garden.

So, while Squall had lived the bulk of his life in Balamb, he was_ not_ a citizen of Balamb. He was a _legal resident_ of Balamb, through Balamb Garden, which was_based_there. He supposed having been born in Winhill could _technically _make him a Galbadian citizen. But he'd never lived there, so he wasn't sure about that. And while he'd spent his early childhood in Centra, it wasn't even a country. It was a largely uninhabited continent. The only reason that this concerned him at all boiled down to paperwork.

He had no idea where to go to get a damned marriage license or where to file it after he and Rinoa were married. A minor detail that he'd yet to work out, and he needed to figure it out soon, because they were getting married in less than three weeks.

As little as he liked the idea, the thought occurred to him that he might have to talk to Cid about this, because all the legal niceties of citizenship versus legal residency as it applied to marriage statutes were completely beyond him. He was a mercenary commander, not a lawyer.

The idea of eloping to Trabia was becoming more and more attractive as time wore on.

"Commander Leonhart?" Squall looked up from the crew list he'd been studying. And waited. The crewmember began to look uncomfortable as the silence stretched. Sighing inwardly, he thought, _it's so much easier to communicate when you don't have to SPEAK._

Finally he asked, "Yes?"

"Uh, right. When do you think we will reach the.. The lunar base location?" The man asked._ What was his name? _Peterson…that was it. He was one of the technicians that had survived the disaster.

Squall turned to the control panel and checked the information on the computer screen before answering, "Just a little over fifteen minutes."

Turning back to the technician, Squall added, "We'll be going over mission assignments in a half hour."

"Are we doing any EVA today?" Peterson asked.

Squall shook his head, answering, "No. We need to make sure everything is set up and ready first. I've already sent doctor Sheppard to check out the morgue. We'll start the EVA's first thing tomorrow." The man nodded and left.

Just then the radio crackled to life.

"Commander Leonhart, this is Airstation Control. ETA on lunar base coordinates?"

"Ten minutes." Squall answered.

"Copy commander."

Unwilling as yet to sit back down in the pilot's chair, Squall stood instead off to the side of it, watching as the ship's autopilot directed it to the coordinates that he had typed in. He glanced from time to time at the readouts on the computer screen, but most of his attention was directed to the view through the clear canopy above him.

"I never get tired of this view." Piet commented. Squall glanced over at where the man stood with a rapt expression on his face. Squall wondered if his own expression was that fascinated. The momentary peace was of necessity brief, since there was a job to do and preparations to make.

Squall had just turned back to reviewing the information on the crew and their specialties when the doctor's assistant returned, reporting that they had checked out the morgue and found everything that they had needed was where it should be. The doctor had also taken it upon himself to get familiar with the infirmary on board.

Squall nodded, saying, "tell the doctor to meet me in the conference room in twenty minutes."

"Yes sir." The man nodded and left.

It seemed just seconds elapsed when the autopilot notified Squall that they had reached their destination. His time was momentarily taken up by shutting down the directional rockets, making sure the forward shields were engaged to prevent any collisions with the free-floating debris, and radioing in to Airstation Control to advise them of their current status.

"Thank you Commander Leonhart." Airstation Control responded.

Standing up, he turned to Piet and told him, "Get the crew together and meet me in the conference room. We need to go over our mission assignments and make sure everyone knows what they're doing tomorrow."

"What about tonight?" Piet asked.

"Tonight's about getting prepared, making sure everyone and everything is unpacked and ready." Squall replied.

Piet nodded and left. Squall took his crew list and smoothed his hands down the breast of his blue-black SeeD uniform jacket, walking toward the conference room. He and Laguna had gone back and forth over the subject of his attire, and he was more than a little annoyed at his father at the moment. Laguna had wanted him to wear the same jumpsuit uniform that the rest of the crew was wearing, and Squall had stubbornly refused.

While he understood that he was part of the crew, he was _commanding_ it, not working as a technician. He _wasn't_ part of Esthar's technocracy, their military or really, even their citizenry despite the paperwork that said otherwise. He was a SeeD, pure and simple. So, while Squall had gone ahead and worn a uniform, it was _his_ uniform.

Laguna had not been happy when Squall had arrived in his SeeD uniform that morning. The tension between them as they glared at each other, arms crossed, could have been cut with a knife and made the initial preparations for the launch very uncomfortable for the rest of the crew.

Squall was still irritated at Laguna for his presumption. Not so much about the stupidity over what he _wore_, more about the fact that Laguna hadn't even _asked_ him if he wanted Estharian citizenship. That had flat out pissed him off.

So, now here he was, at the start of a very important mission, and he was angry and out of sorts from the get-go.

Entering the conference room, he gazed pensively out at the planet that rotated above the Ragnarok's clear canopy. He was early, but he needed the time to think.

_"Laguna's very unhappy"_ Rinoa sent, worry and concern for both him and Laguna coming through clearly.

_"Tough shit."_ Squall sent, not feeling the least bit charitable at the moment.

_"Squall…"_ Rinoa protested, distressed.

_"He didn't even ask me Rin!"_ He flared, then paused as he felt the pain coming from her.

_"I know Squall, trust me, Laguna's been kicking himself for hours now thinking he's completely ruined things with that one, stupid, impulsive act."_ Rinoa sent, sadly. An image of a completely dejected Laguna watching the launch, hand covering his mouth, face etched in lines of worry and eyes deeply unhappy accompanied that statement.

_"He didn't want you to leave with angry words and hurt feelings between you. He's so afraid if something goes wrong…"_ Rinoa sent, adding her own worry to it.

_"It'll be fine. They went over the Ragnarok from top to bottom for a solid week before we launched, remember?"_ Squall sent, reassuring her with a quick burst of love.

_"Will you talk to him? Tonight?"_ Rinoa asked.

Squall couldn't disguise his irritation; he knew Rinoa could feel it, pulsing along the link between them. At least it wasn't anger, not anymore. The quick burst of fear he'd sensed from Rinoa at the first warm rush of anger she'd felt from him had shocked him out of his temper. He realized that while she'd seen him angry, she'd never _felt_ it from him. Outwardly, for the most part he was under control. But under the surface, which Rinoa finally got a glimpse of, he seethed. And while he might not give any sign of it, it took awhile for that slow burn to cool off. Squall still didn't know what had scared Rinoa so much; he wasn't_ that_ angry with Laguna.

_"Squall?"_ Rinoa prompted, sending soothing thoughts toward him. He sighed, feeling his rough, edgy attitude begin to smooth out.

_"All right, I'll talk to him. Later tonight."_ He sent, relenting. Her joy made him smile. And just like that, the coiled tension he'd held inside all morning faded away.

_"I love you Rin. And thank you… for whatever it was you did."_ He added, mentally embracing her.

When the crew finally assembled in the conference room to find Squall already there, waiting for them, their collective apprehension eased when they saw a considerably less dour and cold commander than they'd expected.

Squall placed the crew roster on the table and waited while everyone sat down. He studied them all silently. Originally, they had planned on a total crew of six, but it had been revised to eight. Along with Squall as Commander and Piet as second, there was the doctor and his assistant, two technicians, Peterson and a woman named Irian, which had been on the lunar base along with Piet, and two young women from the Airstation.

"Thank you for coming. I just wanted to go over our assignments tomorrow and discuss any concerns or problems that may have cropped up." Squall said, then he turned to the doctor.

"Doctor Sheppard, I already got your assistant's report that you'd found everything in both the morgue and the infirmary. Do you have anything to add?" He asked.

The doctor looked thoughtful, then answered, "According to your report Commander Leonhart, we are expecting to retrieve six bodies. With that in mind, we have equipped six climate-controlled pods for both storage and transport. We have an additional eight pods, which hopefully we will not have to use."

Squall nodded in agreement, asking, "Is the ID database up and running?"

The doctor nodded, "We should have no trouble identifying the casualties."

"Good." Addressing the rest of the crew, Squall added, "We will be doing the retrieval in four-hour shifts. Piet will be in charge of the first shift tomorrow. Peterson, you're in charge of the second shift. You should deploy in teams of at least two."

Squall checked the crew list again before looking up and continuing, "Those of you scheduled for EVA may want to check out your equipment tonight. If anything is missing or you have any problems, tell me. Everyone on board has a suit, and there are spares in case of problems or damage, but I do want to make sure that everything works before I send anyone out. Understand?" The crew nodded at this.

"As for the rest of it… You've all gotten your bunk assignments?" Another round of nods answered that question.

"Okay, we also have rotating galley and domestic duties. Everyone takes a turn. Even me. We're here seven days and there are only eight of us, so everyone is going to need to pitch in. Any questions?" Squall asked.

One of the female technicians raised her hand, asking, "Are they going to be posted?"

"Yes, there will be a list by the galley." Squall answered.

One of the other young women raised her hand, eyes dancing as she asked, "Commander? Can you cook?"

Squall raised his eyebrows at this, somewhat amused at the question, and answered, "Yes. I guess we'll all find out how well in a couple of days." Quiet laughter echoed that statement.

Folding his arms across his chest, Squall concluded the short meeting with, "See Piet for your shift assignments for the EVA. Any other problems or questions, see me." Squall dismissed everyone after that, leaving the conference room himself. He had more than a few things that he had to do in preparation for tomorrow's work as well, one of them being to inspect his spacesuit. He may not ever use it, but he wanted to make sure of its condition to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

He spent the remainder of the day going all over the ship, top to bottom, making sure everyone had their duties in hand and checking their store of supplies and water. That was important and Squall realized that while they were in orbit, water would have to be used sparingly as it was a finite resource up there. So, no long showers. The former Lunar Base technicians may have been used to that, but this was a new experience for Squall. The thought made his skin itch.

He was in his stateroom setting up a small office when one of the technicians knocked on his door.

When he opened it, the girl on the other side seemed to freeze for a moment, staring at him as though she'd forgotten why she'd knocked on his door. Squall simply waited, watching her, until she found her voice.

"Uh, Commander… Um, we're about to eat dinner, all of us. You want to…?" she asked, hesitantly, cheeks pink. Squall frowned, wondering what her problem was. He hadn't barked at _or_ bitten anyone._ He'd _thought he'd been rather… well… if not_ nice_, at least not hostile. Or rude.

While he would have preferred to eat alone, he supposed that the close quarters that everyone had to endure for the week would be easier borne if there were at least a _little_ social interaction. And it wouldn't hurt to get to know at least a little about the people he was working with. Besides, he had to eat.

Nodding, he told the girl, "Yes. Be there in a bit." The girl nodded and left, Squall still wondering what had gotten her so flustered. He shut down his laptop and grabbing his t-shirt off the back of his chair, he put it on and headed for the galley.

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"Is he coming?" Irian asked as the girl returned to the galley.

"Yeah, he should be along in a little bit." she answered, blowing a breath out and fanning her face.

"What? Its not_ that_ hot in here." The other woman said, frowning.

"Wait'll_ he _gets here. With any luck, he'll forget to put his shirt back on." The girl said, sighing. Irian and the other woman chuckled at that, trading grins at the image that gave them. The young SeeD was a _damned_ good looking man.

When Squall arrived a few minutes later with his white t-shirt on, the female crewmembers couldn't help trading a glance and sighing in disappointment. Fortunately for Squall, the male crewmembers arrived _after_ he did, so he was spared any embarrassment that might have resulted from the comments the women had made earlier.

He sat down at the table, wondering at the odd looks the women were giving him. Had he missed something?

"So, Irian my dear, what have you cooked up for us tonight?" Piet asked her with a smile, entering the galley along with Peterson, the doctor and his assistant.

"Something food-like and vaguely edible," she answered with a smirk. Piet and the other technicians laughed at this, knowing that what constituted "food" when one was in space often bore little resemblance to the real thing.

"My favorite." Quipped Peterson. The rest of the crew sat down and the food was dished out.

Squall studied what was on his plate for a moment, poking at it carefully to see if he could identify exactly what it was. It didn't smell terrible, and didn't look that bad. It wasn't terribly _appealing_, but Squall had seen and eaten worse. He shrugged mentally and started to eat.

A sudden silence made Squall look up to see the entire crew staring at him.

"What?" he asked, puzzled.

"No complaints?" Irian asked, eyebrows climbing toward her hairline.

"No. Should there be?" He asked, suddenly wary.

Piet chuckled, explaining; "this has to be the first time we've seen someone eat this stuff without griping about it. It usually takes a little while for people to get used to it."

Squall shrugged, "I've eaten worse." He turned back to his dinner.

"What could be worse than_ this_?" The youngest of the women asked with a grimace.

"Burnt jelleye." Squall answered, taking a drink of water.

"Burnt _what_?" Peterson asked, incredulous.

"Jelleye." Squall answered.

"Ugh! Why would you eat that?" the doctor's assistant asked, making a face.

Squall shrugged, "Nothing else to eat."

When he didn't elaborate, Piet asked him, "I take it this was during an assignment?"

Squall nodded, answering, "We had to run for our lives from Timber to Galbadia Garden. No time to pack. So, we had to eat whatever we could kill that was even close to edible. Jelleye barely qualifies; it isn't poisonous at least. But it tastes _terrible_. Worse if it's burned."

"Ugh. Makes me sick just thinking about it." Peterson said, making a face.

"Don't tell me _you _cooked it," the other woman asked, looking worried.

"No, one of the other members of my team, Irvine, did." Squall answered.

"And he burned it? Yet you ate it anyway?" the woman asked, incredulous.

"Like I said, nothing else to eat." Squall answered laconically.

"Brave man." Peterson said with a chuckle.

Squall lapsed into silence, continuing to eat. Piet thought that it was a bit of a surprise that he was there actually, knowing his aloof nature. Certainly, he wasn't the most talkative of people, answering when spoken directly to but otherwise remaining quiet. And he didn't volunteer _anything_. He hadn't changed much from the first time Piet had met him, despite the time that had passed and the young woman that had captured his heart.

He smiled to himself at the dichotomy: to everyone else, he was the cool and remote commander. To his fiancée however, he was warm and loving. The outward displays were subtle, in keeping with his introverted personality, but the warmth in the young man's eyes was unmistakable.

Piet had worried at first about the Sorceress Rinoa, remembering entirely too many tragedies associated with sorceresses. The destruction of the Lunar Base being one of them. Piet had wanted to blame her for the death and destruction that had resulted, but even _he_ could tell that it wasn't actually _Rinoa_ that had released Adel from her prison. He'd watched in growing fear as the sorceress, to all appearances asleep, had flung her young knight across the room when he'd tried to stop her, nearly killing him. The fact that she_ hadn't_ was more a testament to the young man's resilience than to her restraint. She'd moved woodenly, like a puppet. It was obvious that some outside force had been controlling her.

Squall himself had eventually defeated that force, Ultimecia, and gradually, the fear over what_ Sorceress Rinoa_ would bring to the world, faded. When time passed while she remained free and nothing terrible happened, Piet, and the rest of the world, relaxed. It was hard now to remember that the sweet young woman that he'd met in the Airstation prior to launch that morning was the same girl that had been on the Lunar Base two years ago.

When Squall had finished with his dinner, he'd thanked Irian gravely, politely excused himself, and left.

In the silence that he'd left behind, the remainder of the crew looked at each other, each formulating their own opinion of their young mission commander.

"Friendly sort, isn't he?" Peterson asked, tongue firmly in cheek. Piet chuckled. Whatever adjective might be used to describe Squall, "friendly" was definitely _not_on the list.

"Well, he's polite, anyway." Irian said, chuckling as well. Piet smiled at her. The conversation moved away from the subject of their commander to what they would all be doing, first thing tomorrow morning. Piet noticed that the mood of the crew was one of perfect confidence. No one had any worries about their commander's ability to lead or operate the ship. Of course, there shouldn't have been; the Ragnarok, for all intents and purposes, was_ Squall's_ ship.

************************************************************************************************************************

After he'd eaten dinner, Squall headed forward to the command center of the ship, intending to check on its status. Sitting down in the pilot's chair, he brought up the main computer and read the information that scrolled up the screen. So far, the aging ship was performing the way it should be. He transmitted a status report attesting to that fact to Airstation Control.

He considered putting a call in to Airstation Control, and then hesitated. It was well after dinnertime, and it was unlikely that Laguna was still there. Even less likely that Rinoa would be. As he sat there, undecided, a beep alerted him to an incoming call.

INCOMING MESSAGE, AIRSTATION CONTROL flashed on the computer screen as the comm. beeped.

"Leonhart." He answered.

"Commander Leonhart, we have an incoming call. Please switch to secure channel 667B." Came the disembodied voice of Airstation Control.

Squall did as instructed and Airstation Control responded, "patching through."

A few seconds of static followed, then a voice said "onscreen please." Squall keyed the command and the viewscreen came up, with Laguna's face smiling tiredly on it.

"How's everything going son?" Laguna asked. Squall frowned, taking in the background shown on the screen. It didn't look like Laguna was actually at the Airstation.

"Fine so far. I was actually thinking about calling you." He answered.

"Just as well you didn't call, you wouldn't have reached me. I'm not at the Airstation. I actually have a private comm. linkup in my office." Laguna said.

"Oh." Squall answered._ Now what?_ He wondered, at a loss on how to proceed. Laguna smiled slightly as he saw Squall's hesitation.

"Listen, Squall…" Laguna cleared his throat uncomfortably and rubbed at the back of his neck, thinking, _God, this is hard…_Squall waited, silent.

Laguna tried again, "Uh… I'm…I'm sorry about…. making assumptions I perhaps shouldn't have. I should have asked you before just going ahead with the citizenship thing. It was selfish of me. I wanted to …I wanted…" He lapsed into silence. What_ had_ he wanted, exactly?

"Dad." Squall said. Laguna stopped, and closed his eyes a moment, swallowing._ Okay. He called me 'dad'. So I guess that means he's not furious with me anymore._

"I was upset about it, yeah. I mean, I'm SeeD, I have to be neutral, you know that. I can't be seen to have ties to any given country. How would I be trusted otherwise?" Squall asked.

"Well, as to that son, I would think that your reputation and record would go a long way toward dispelling any concerns of that sort." Laguna replied, and then added, "You have to be from somewhere Squall. Everyone is. If you really want to be picky about it, about this whole citizenship question, then consider this: despite the fact that you've never actually lived in Galbadia, you were born there, which automatically makes you a citizen. You wouldn't be the only SeeD with dual citizenship; I'll bet if you asked around, you'll find a whole lot of them."

Squall remained silent for a moment, then asked, "why?"

Laguna sighed;_ you never ask the easy questions, do you son?_ He thought.

"You mean, why did I do this?" Laguna asked.

Squall nodded.

"Because you've never really had a_ home _Squall. Just the orphanage, and Garden; no real place that was just yours. I wasn't there to give you a home when you were younger, but I'm here now, and I wanted to give that to you. I wanted to give you a place to belong to. A place where your _family_ was. A place to be_ from_." _A place where you're loved, a place where you matter; where you're more than just an ID number, a weapon._

Intellectually, Laguna knew his gesture was more a symbolic one than anything else. Squall was too old now for it to matter as much to him as it would have ten or more years ago when he was still a child. He was a grown man now, getting ready to marry and, with any luck, start his _own_ family. It might have been an empty gesture, but if nothing else, he hoped that his son might see the heartfelt reasoning behind it and at least appreciate it, if not accept it.

Squall swallowed, silent. Somehow, that quiet explanation had managed to pierce right through to his heart. Like all orphans, he'd longed for a home and family of his own; he'd just gotten better at hiding it than all the rest. Eventually, he convinced himself that it didn't matter. You couldn't miss what you'd never had. _They couldn't take what you never wanted._

The silence stretched and Laguna schooled himself to patience. Words and emotions were not Squall's strength, and Laguna wanted him to work through this on his own. So despite his discomfort, he waited, and watched as Squall took a deep breath and looked away for a moment.

Finally, Squall said in a low voice, "you didn't have to do that."

"I did. For me as much as for you." Laguna said.

"No, I mean…" Squall hesitated, searching for the words he needed._ Hyne, this is hard. With Rinoa, I can just SHOW her what I mean… everyone else, I have to SAY it._

"The paperwork doesn't matter. I already know where my family is." Squall said.

"Yes, Squall. You know where your_ family_ is. But do you know where your_ home _is?" Laguna asked. The moment the words left his lips, he cringed inwardly. A little voice in his head kept telling him,_ don't do it, don't push_. His heart told him that Squall_ needed _that push.

But the completely lost expression on Squall's face when he asked that last question made Laguna wonder if maybe he hadn't pushed things too far.

Squall simply stared at Laguna._ Do I know where my HOME is? What the hell kind of question is that?_ It was on the tip of his tongue to answer that _of course _he knew where his home was; it was where he lived, where he worked, where his friends were. Balamb Garden, of course. The only home he'd ever known. Aside from the orphanage of course, which he barely remembered. But he got the feeling that Laguna meant something deeper than that.

And while Squall wasn't always the most sensitive of people when it came to_ other_ people's feelings, he hesitated at attempting to answer that question for only one reason. If he answered honestly, he _knew_ Laguna would be hurt by it. He found he was unwilling be deliberately callous.

_He wants me to tell him that my home is where my family is. Here, in Esthar. But it's not. To me, my home is where my heart is. Home, to me, is not a place. It's a person. Wherever Rinoa is, that's my home. It could be here, Balamb, Deling City or Timber. It wouldn't matter WHERE we were, as long as she was there with me, I'd be home._

"Squall?" Laguna finally asked.

When his son's distracted expression faded and he focused on Laguna, he said, "sorry to put you on the spot like that son. Just, think about it? Okay?"

Frowning slightly, Squall nodded.

"Why don't you sign off for the night and go to bed? You're starting to look tired." Laguna said.

Squall smiled slightly, "You're starting to sound like…"

"Your father?" Laguna supplied.

"I was going to say_ mother_." Squall smirked. Laguna chuckled.

"Raine wouldn't have_ suggested_ you go to bed. She'd have _told_ you. And you'd have gone. End of story." Laguna told him.

Squall studied Laguna thoughtfully. He'd never asked about what his mother was like, and Laguna hadn't really spoken of her, aside from the odd comment in passing about how much he resembled her. He suspected Laguna still found it painful to speak of her, despite the passage of nearly two decades.

But, he didn't really need to ask his father about her. He'd already_ met_ her. It was an inadvertent gift that Ellone had given him while trying to prevent Laguna from leaving Raine. He smiled slightly as he realized that Laguna was right. Raine's strong no-nonsense personality would have brooked no argument.

"Anyway, have a good night son. I love you." Laguna said, thinking privately,_ too bad if that makes you feel uncomfortable Squall. Get used to it._

Squall frowned slightly, but aside from that, displayed no further discomfort.

"Good night dad." He replied softly.  
************************************************************************************************************************

Later that night, he finally lay in the bed in his stateroom, trying to sleep. He was tired, and should have been able to drop off immediately. Yet despite his fatigue, he couldn't settle.

Sighing, he rolled onto his side and scrunched the pillow under his head, hugging it to him. As if of its own volition, his hand reached out and touched the empty spot on his bed that Rinoa usually occupied.

_"I miss you Rin," _he sent to her, opening his mind and letting her see how much.

_"I miss you too Squall," _she responded, sending her loving warmth along with it. Squall sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing under the soothing balm of her spirit. He was asleep moments later.  
************************************************************************************************************************

The retrieval started early the next morning. Piet and Irian were on the first shift, with Squall monitoring them from the pilot's seat, watching their progress on the video screen. Both technicians were tethered to the Ragnarok with a long lifeline, and Squall was in constant radio contact so as to make any maneuvers necessary for them to complete their task.

Doctor Sheppard and his assistant were standing by with the pods. The remaining techs, Petersen and the two girls from the Airstation would be helping the doctor if he required any additional assistance.

"Irian and I have reached the first body." Piet said over the radio link.

"Standby. Retracting tethers now." Squall replied, punching in the commands and watching as the two techs were reeled in with their sad burden between them. They entered the airlock and laid the body down, immediately leaving again and sealing it behind them.

Once Squall got the signal that the airlock had re-pressurized, he notified the doctor so he could bring the body down to the morgue.

Using their directional jets, Piet and Irian moved over to the next casualty, grasping either side of it and waiting as Squall brought them back in the same manner as before.

It was slow going, searching out and bringing back the dead, but in the end, Piet and Irian had managed to bring in three of them before their shift ended.

They took a break for lunch then, and the entire crew gathered in the galley again, with Squall holding an impromptu meeting at the same time to check on how everything was progressing.

"So, doc, how're things down in the morgue?" Peterson asked with a slight smirk.

"Dead." The doctor answered, catching on to the joke. Snorts and quiet laughter responded to the comment.

Squall however, didn't react beyond raising his eyebrows and asking, "The bodies have been identified, right?"

The doctor nodded.

Turning to Piet, Squall asked him, "What were your observations while you were out there? I saw four bodies in this area the last time I was up here but you only managed to retrieve three."

"We were only able to reach three. The last one may have drifted off." Piet answered.

"We'll have to move farther into the debris field then." Squall said, then he turned to Peterson, adding, "You and your team are scheduled next, but it probably won't be for another hour or so while I get us into position for the next EVA."

"We'll be ready when you are." Petersen said. Squall nodded, then got up to leave.

"I'll let you know when we get where we need to be." He said, leaving the galley and heading toward the controls.

For the next hour, he threaded his way though the debris, scanning under high magnification to see where the remaining bodies had ended up. He searched in mounting frustration for nearly two hours before he finally located them. Fortunately, their retrieval was accomplished smoothly.

By that evening, Squall had the names of the victims they'd brought on board, and he transmitted that to Laguna so that their families could be notified.

He informed the crew as they sat at dinner after he'd sent his short message to Laguna. The sudden pall that fell over them left him puzzled until one of the girls spoke up.

"Um, Commander? Is there any way we can speak with our families?" she asked. Squall studied the other crewmembers, seeing a similar sentiment on each of their faces. And he mentally kicked himself for not thinking about that. _Of course they're going to want to talk to their families. They just spent the day recovering the bodies of their friends and colleagues, who will never speak to their families again._

"Of course. I'll arrange it." He answered.

As he went forward later that evening, he was actually surprised that there appeared to be so little resentment toward him on that score. He spoke to both Laguna and Rinoa daily, although in Laguna's case the bulk of it was related to the job he was doing. Still, though nobody had come out and said it, it did seem unfair that he was able to talk to his family so often when the rest of the crew wasn't.

When he brought up that observation to Laguna, he was in complete agreement and they both got to work on arranging personal communications between the crew and their families.

Fortunately, only the first day was spent with retrieving bodies. The remainder of the week was spent inspecting the debris and bringing back anything that appeared to be salvageable. Squall thought that was rather pointless, to spend so much time basically picking up junk. But, whatever. If Laguna felt that the wreckage of the Lunar Base held anything at all of value, then Squall would do his best to bring it back.

The night before they were to return to the Airstation, Squall took his turn at dinner duties, much to the amusement of the rest of the crew.

"So, commander, what have you cooked up for us tonight?" Irian asked, eyes dancing. In spite of Squall's quietly aloof demeanor, she actually rather liked him. Efficient, capable, certainly a competent pilot and despite his youth, a natural leader, he was all of that. It also didn't hurt that he was exceedingly handsome, despite his scarred face. But she'd seen glimpses, subtle hints that behind his reserve was actually a very caring young man. Certainly, it was obvious that he cared deeply for his father and adored his fiancée.

And every so often, his sly sense of humor made its appearance. It was often so brief an appearance however, if one weren't paying attention, it would go unnoticed.

He leaned casually against the counter in the galley with his arms folded across his chest, looking darkly forbidding in a black t-shirt and jeans. The image was lightened somewhat however by the sparkle in his normally cool eyes and the slight smile that he wore.

"Something possibly edible. I have yet to get the lab results back; so don't quote me on it." came Squall's deadpan reply. Irian and the rest of the crew laughed at this, the two girls from the Airstation giggling hysterically.

He moved away from the counter and started placing dishes on the table, then sat down. He poured himself a glass of water as the food was passed around, then served himself when it came his way.

"Well, it doesn't _smell_ bad…" Peterson said, making a show of inspecting his dinner cautiously before sampling it.

"_And_ he didn't burn it…" one of the girls said. Squall took a sip of his water, mostly ignoring the comments beyond flicking a glance at the speakers before taking a bite of his own dinner.

"Hey, this isn't half bad!" Petersen announced, giving Squall a surprised look.

"Yeah, it… actually has flavor. How'd you do that?" Irian asked, curiously.

"Practice. And_ extreme_ boredom." Squall answered.

"Okay, I sense a story here. Tell it." Irian demanded. The rest of the crew looked on with interest, no one willing to say anything that might distract him. Most of what the crew knew about Squall had come from other sources, not from Squall himself. Very rarely did he talk about anything personal. In fact, almost never. So the girls especially were very interested in this particular story.

Squall sighed, "All right. I told you about the burnt jelleye. Well, that's pretty much when I decided to start taking turns with Selphie and Quistis on the cooking duties. I could at least manage not to burn anything." He paused for a moment, toying with his fork before taking another bite of his dinner.

"And?" Irian prompted.

Squall gave her an exasperated look before continuing, "We practically lived on this ship for awhile, before we fought Adel. There was a lot of downtime where nothing much was happening, and I can only play cards for so long before it drives me crazy. So I learned my way around this galley here. I had to eat, and much as I love her, Rinoa can't cook." The crew chuckled quietly at that statement.

_" I AM getting better you know…"_ Rinoa sent defensively.

_"I know. And I commend your efforts."_ Squall soothed.

"You're a man of hidden talents." Piet commented. Squall shrugged. He wouldn't know. He didn't mind cooking once in awhile, but it wasn't something he was passionate about. He could do it fairly well, but he didn't think he had any particular_ talent _for it. His whole being from childhood on had only one focus: strength. Self-sufficiency. Anything that might be seen as a weakness was to be avoided. Fear. Uncertainty. Loneliness. Compassion, consideration, love; anything that made him vulnerable. Anything that Seifer might have seized upon to make Squall's life unbearable was studiously avoided. If you never let anyone know what hurt you, you couldn't be hurt.

So, whatever hidden talents Squall might have discovered, had he been given a chance, were excised along with the rest of what he'd considered "weakness"; the talents that he did have related mostly to his life as a SeeD. He could learn anything quickly, particularly languages. He thought fast and moved faster. Strategy and planning came as easily as breathing. He had the sense of balance that a cat would envy, which made it easy for him to learn to dance on the fly and convince a certain young woman that he'd been doing it forever, in spite of his initial awkwardness. He couldn't draw, but he could write with either hand. He couldn't _create_…but he could destroy with chilling efficiency. His agile mind and body had been forged into an impressive weapon.

He even had perfect pitch, though he couldn't sing to save his life.

"What's the first thing you want to do when you get home?" One of the girls asked. Squall never could recall her name.

He frowned, staring at her for a moment before turning his attention to the remains of his dinner, declining to answer. What he wanted to do was something that concerned only Rinoa and him.

"I know what_ I_ want to do," Peterson said. "Hug my wife. Kiss her breathless."

"Aww, that so sweet…" one of the other girls sighed.

"Same here," Piet agreed.

"Commander? What about you?" Irian asked. Squall shot her a glare, feeling his cheeks warm and just knowing they were a lovely shade of red. Catching the amused expressions of the rest of the crew, Squall sighed.

Finally, he gestured vaguely at Peterson and mumbled, "What he said." Quiet laughter followed, and Irian smiled encouragingly at him.

Clearing his throat, he said, "We leave at 0800 tomorrow morning, so…the commlink's free if anyone wants to use it. I'll see you all in the morning." He got up and retreated as gracefully as he could.

"I think we embarrassed him." Piet commented.

"That was so cute, he actually_ blushed_," one of the Airstation girls sighed.

"Yeah," said the other girl, "who knew, huh?"

************************************************************************************************************************

By six A.M. Squall was already in full uniform and seated at the control panel of the Ragnarok running the standard systems checks. And not getting results that he liked.

_What the hell?_ He thought as the readout flickered ominously. Frowning, his fingers danced across the touch panel, reading the information that scrolled up on the screen.

Fuel. Check. No problems there.

Life support. That was fine.

Engine diagnostics came up fine.

External and internal cameras? Check.

Gravity generators, hull seals, auxiliary rockets, reserve fuel. All of it fine.

Directional controls…. wait. Squall typed in the commands on the computer again and the ship responded. Sluggishly. His frown deepened and he initiated a diagnostic scan.

Nothing.

Squall opened the commlink and radioed the Airstation.

"Airstation Control, this is Commander Leonhart. I'm experiencing a problem with the directional controls. Please advise." He told them.

"This is Airstation Control, what sort of problem commander?" came the reply.

"Response is sluggish. Standard diagnostic scans aren't turning up anything. All other systems check out fine." Squall replied.

"Run a software diagnostic on the navicomputer." The Airstation replied.

"Copy." Squall said, typing in the commands. As the computer ran its scan, the crew filed in and took their seats, belting themselves in. Squall glanced back and saw them, then returned his attention to the computer screen as the scan completed.

Typing in the coordinates that directed the Ragnarok to its point of re-entry, Squall sighed in quiet relief as the ship responded smoothly.

"Software scan completed, and directional controls are now responding." Squall reported to Airstation Control.

"Thank God." Came Laguna's relieved voice. A glance at the screen showed both Laguna and Rinoa in the control room.

"Good morning Laguna, Rinoa." Squall greeted them with a slight smile.

"I just got in son. What was all this about the directional controls?" he asked. Rinoa shot Laguna an alarmed look.

"They weren't responding right. A software diagnostic scan on the navicomputer seems to have taken care of it." Squall said.

"Well then, come on home son." Laguna urged. Rinoa smiled beside him and Squall smiled back at her.

_"I can't wait to hold you again,"_ he sent to her. Having her mind linked to his while he slept had helped, but he missed her warmth.

_"Same here."_ She responded.

Turning around, Squall addressed the crew, "there was a slight problem with the directional controls earlier but we got it sorted out, so we'll be heading back to the Airstation shortly." A round of nods and relieved looks followed his announcement, and Squall, already noting that they'd all strapped in, turned back toward the controls on the ship and watched as it made its way toward the atmospheric envelope.

They were five minutes from re-entry when the controls failed completely.

COURSE CORRECTION REQUIRED.

Squall frowned at the red, blinking letters on the computer screen and typed in the commands. The ship continued on its current course, undeterred.

_Shit._

Squall's fingers flew madly over the touch panel, trying to get the controls to respond and adjust the angle of entry. No response.

In desperation, Squall cut the engines, knowing that the ship would drift on its own momentum toward its doom, but hoping that without the extra impetus behind it, he would have a little more time to fix the problem. Preferably before they all died on re-entry.

"Airstation control, we have a problem. Repeat, we have a problem. Controls are not responding. Cannot correct angle of re-entry. Please advise." Squall radioed.

"This is Airstation control, can you get the navicomputer to respond at all commander?" the disembodied voice asked.

"Negative. System diagnostic scan is ineffective. I have cut the rockets, we're just drifting, but I can't even get the retros to fire. We're drifting toward re-entry with neither power nor control. We have three point two minutes to re-entry. If we do not correct our angle of entry the Ragnarok will break up as soon as it hits the ionosphere." Squall reported calmly. Inside however, his mind was screaming in fear.

And Rinoa heard it.


	8. Angelwing

In the Airstation Control center, Laguna watched the viewscreen with growing alarm as Squall's tense expression illustrated exactly how dire his situation was while calmly reporting that he had no control over a ship that was due to enter the atmosphere in moments.

Rinoa meanwhile, had gone dead white and was swaying dangerously before Laguna caught sight of her and quickly ushered her over to a chair.

"Deep breaths honey. Put your head down." He said, gently pushing her head down and supporting her.

_"Squall!"_ her mind cried out desperately, reaching for him. His response was a wordless surge of fear, layered with grim determination and hopeless courage. She could feel his mind racing as he struggled desperately for a solution.

_"I'm sorry Rin, I…I can't get it to work…"_

_"Don't leave me, PLEASE!"_

_"I may not have a choice, angel."_

"Rinoa?" Laguna had crouched down in front of her chair, eyes suspiciously bright.

"Can you get up? He needs to be able to see you, honey." Laguna's voice failed for a moment before he cleared his throat and stood, offering his hand to help her to her feet.

************************************************************************************************************************

"Commander? Is there a problem?" Squall turned toward the crew, seeing their tense expressions.

Focusing on Piet, who'd spoken, Squall answered, "Yes. Directional controls have failed. I haven't managed to bring them back online yet and we have just minutes to re-entry." The two girls gasped and grabbed each other's hands. Piet swallowed and Irian's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm doing everything I can. I want to go home too." Squall said softly, before turning back to the control panel.

"Ragnarok, can you switch over to manual control?" the Airstation asked him. Squall punched in the commands, swearing softly when the computer ignored them.

"Negative Airstation control. The controls are completely locked up and the computer is not responding." Squall replied._ THINK dammit. The computer is the problem…REBOOT IT._

"Initiating system restart." Squall said, starting the process.

"Ragnarok, are you sure? You'll lose all guidance and be on manual control only, IF you can get the computer to unlock it. You may also lose life support." The Airstation control technician protested, sounding worried.

"Life support systems are on the main server. The navicomputer is on its own system. Life support won't be affected." Squall said, focused on his task. He waited, hands gripping the sides of the control panel until the knuckles were white. Seconds ticked by as the computer screen flashed and began to restart itself.

Then…

SYSTEM FAILURE

_SHIT._

************************************************************************************************************************

"Airstation Control. We have complete system failure. Manual controls have not unlocked." Squall reported tersely as both Laguna and Rinoa watched with tears in their eyes. Ellone too, working away tirelessly with the rest of the technicians, was swallowing back tears as she realized the image on the viewscreen might be the last time she'd ever see her brother alive.

"Squall.." Rinoa whispered, blinking, feeling the hot tears break free and course down her cheeks. She buried her face in Laguna's shoulder and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. She hated this. She hated the fact that he was thousands of miles away facing death alone. She hated the fact that she could only be with him in spirit. But most of all, she hated the fact that she was completely helpless to save him.

_Or was she?_ She was a sorceress. The most powerful one in living memory. But her power had its limits, and one of them, tragically, was distance. If she was there with him, however, she could help him; she _knew_ she could. _If she was with him…._

_"Squall!"_

_"I'm sorry Rin, I've done everything I could think of, and nothing's working. I'm afraid I won't be coming home after all. I love you.."_

_"STOP!"_ Her mind screamed, anguished. She felt Squall's grief, regret and hopelessness, and it tore through her heart.

"Squall, please," she sobbed at the image on the screen. "Don't give up!"

"I've only got seconds left, angel." Squall said softly, swallowing. He touched the screen, eyes full of pain as Rinoa shook her head in denial. The image began to flicker, then…. nothing but snow. Rinoa's heart went into her throat as she realized what that meant. Ionization blackout. They were re-entering the atmosphere.

"NO!" she screamed. Breaking away from Laguna, himself nearly undone, she ran over to Ellone.

"Help me Ellone! Put me into his mind! Please!" she begged sobbing.

"You don't know what you're asking Rinoa. You might only see him die." Ellone said, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"I DO! I _know_ what I'm asking. He saved _ME_ this way! Help me save him!" Rinoa said, wringing her hands._ Please, don't let me be too late…_

Then Ellone's voice whispered into Rinoa's mind, _"close your eyes, sister…"_

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall slammed his fists on the control panel, swearing helplessly as the video screen dissolved into static and took Rinoa's tear streaked image with it.

Without turning around, he said in a strangled voice, "We're re-entering the atmosphere. I'm sorry. I did everything I could…"

Then something odd happened, he suddenly felt stronger. And he was not alone.

_Squall. I'm with you. Don't give up yet. I have an idea._

_Rinoa?_

_Yes. Ellone linked me to you. She put me into your mind._

_But, why? How can this help?_

_Remember when you were connected with Laguna? He could use your GF's, your magic, and your strength. It was the same when Ellone linked you to me when I was floating in space. Take my power Squall. Use it._

Squall closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the tears stinging that he refused to let fall, even now. Of course. Magic. But what spell?

Thundara. It was strong enough to short out the navigation system completely. Maybe by doing that, the manual controls would then unlock and Squall could fly the ship by hand.

_DO IT._

Taking a deep breath, Squall focused, and cast the spell, feeling the power flowing from Rinoa's presence in his mind. He hadn't junctioned to any Guardians prior to this trip because he hadn't thought he'd need them. Without Rinoa's help, he couldn't cast any magic.

Lightning arced from his fingertips into the navicomputer. But not in a quick burst like it would be had he cast it during battle. Instead, it was a slow, steady flow. Rinoa was controlling the power level of the spell so that it was just strong enough to short out the computer without doing more damage than was necessary.

"Commander? What are you doing?" Came Piet's alarmed question as the computer shut down completely.

Squall ignored him and seized the manual controls, pulling back on the yoke, hoping. Slowly, the ship raised her nose.

_YES!_

Gritting his teeth, Squall hauled back on the yoke with all his strength, sweating as the friction from re-entry heated up the hull. Checking his gauges, Squall heaved a sigh of relief when he discovered that the forward shields still held, protecting the ship from suffering too much damage before it could be righted. But they wouldn't hold for much longer.

Flipping the toggle, he turned the engines back on. At once, the backup systems of the ship engaged, and it began to respond more immediately to Squall as he pulled back even farther until the ship finally achieved the correct geometry. The ship shuddered, bucked and vibrated like a living thing, and Squall kept pulling back on the yoke, ensuring that the reinforced hull of the ship bore the brunt of the stress of re-entry.

_We're doing it Rin! She's responding! I've got her righted now and we're coming in hot but we ARE coming in!_

_Oh, thank Hyne Squall!_

_Stay with me Rin._

_I'll never leave you._

For an eternity it seemed, Squall fought with the dragonship, forcing it to maintain its direction and angle as it descended into the upper atmosphere. When its struggles calmed, Squall cut in the main rockets and the ship leaped forward with a roar, cleaving through the sky like a blade.

Flying the unwieldy airship on manual only was both tricky and challenging, and Squall was kept busy adjusting airspeed, trim and attitude to keep the ship on course toward the Airstation. Once they'd cleared re-entry Squall went to radio in to notify the Airstation that they had in fact survived, only to discover to his chagrin that in shorting out the navicomputer, he'd also burned out the comms. And there was no autopilot, no navigation. He was flying by sight and memory only.

So, once they'd cleared the upper ionosphere and Squall could actually_ see_ what was below him, he plotted out a careful, gradual descent toward the Esthar Airstation.

_Rin. I've lost the comms. We'll be there in a few minutes, but I need you to wake up and tell them that we're coming and everyone is fine._

_Okay Squall. See you in a few minutes._

_Thank you sweetheart._

Heaving a relieved sigh, Squall hazarded a glance back at the crew. Everyone appeared fine. _Petrified_, but otherwise unhurt.

"Sorry for the rough ride. We'll be landing shortly." He said, giving them a slight smile.

************************************************************************************************************************

Rinoa opened her eyes to see Laguna's anxious, tear streaked face staring into hers as he held her supported in his arms. Ellone stood at his shoulder, dark eyes pleading for good news.

"He's okay. He's coming home." Rinoa said, eyes flooding with tears.

"Oh, thank God…" Laguna breathed, crushing Rinoa against his chest and beginning to sob quietly. Ellone leaned her head against Laguna's shoulder, dissolving into tears as well.

"We had to fry the navicomputer, and lost the comms as a result. But everyone is okay, nobody's hurt. And Squall's tired but he's fine otherwise." Rinoa told him, eyes streaming. He gently set Rinoa down onto her feet and she leaned into him as he hugged her and Ellone both together.

"Thank you, thank you both, so much..." Laguna whispered, over and over. They stayed that way, gathered together, until they heard the roar of the approaching airship.

As one, they turned and watched out the window as Squall settled the Ragnarok gently onto the landing pad; no sign showing that there had ever been a problem at all. Immediately a swarm of technicians, news media representatives and the crewmembers' families descended upon the ship as the doors opened and the boarding ramp extended.

Rinoa, Ellone and Laguna all walked slowly out onto the tarmac as though in a dream. Everything from the sharp edged, bright desert sun, to the hiss of the hydraulics as the ramp deployed, to the heat waves rising off of the ship, lent the scene a surreal quality.

They drew closer and Rinoa froze, staring at the nose of the Ragnarok, hand pressed against her mouth. Laguna and Ellone both stopped, wondering what she was staring at, until they followed her gaze and gasped.

The nose of the ship, once a glittering bright red, was burned black, and evidence of scorch extended up to the cockpit itself, stopping just short of the plexiglass. It was a chilling reminder of exactly _how_ close Squall and the rest of the crew had come to dying.

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall sat rigidly at the controls of the Ragnarok, making the minute adjustments to the ship's flight that were ordinarily done automatically, by hand as he carefully, skillfully steered the ship back to the Airstation.

Nobody on board dared speak, for fear of distracting him from his exacting task. Instead, they all exchanged relieved looks when Squall announced that they were landing.

As soon as the ship came to rest upon the landing pad, everyone began unbuckling their restraints and talking at once, hugging each other in relief. The outer doors hissed open and the ramp extended. Once it had fully extended to the tarmac below, the crew began exiting the ship.

Piet brought up the rear, and he was just about to leave the ship when he noticed that Squall had neither moved nor spoke since he'd announced their landing. Worried, he looked back to see him still sitting at the controls of the ship. As he watched, Squall took a deep breath and let it out, leaning his head forward onto his hands, which were still clenched around the steering yoke.

He thought about saying something, but decided against it. It was obvious the young man simply needed a moment to himself. So instead, Piet quietly left the ship.

************************************************************************************************************************

It wasn't until after he'd landed the ship that reaction set in. Squall held himself together for as long as he could, opening the outer doors and extending the ramp with shaking fingers, hoping to hell the crew got out of there before he fell apart completely. When the silence told him he was alone, _then_ he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, collapsed forward over the controls and simply shook.

_Breathe_, he told himself. _Just breathe_. So he did. He simply breathed, and waited for his racing heart to calm and the adrenaline to fade from his system. The minutes ticked by, and Squall simply stayed quiet until he felt steady enough to handle the insanity that he knew would surely follow.

Finally he released his restraints, stood, smoothed his uniform tunic down, wiped the sweat from his face and tried not to smell the fear that had caused it.

He made his way slowly down the boarding ramp, seeing the crew embracing their families or talking with the press. Scanning the tarmac, he looked for Rinoa, but didn't see her in the milling confusion. Not at first.

Squall squinted his eyes against the bright sunlight, frustrated that his uniform tunic didn't have a handy pocket for a pair of sunglasses. He walked to the bottom of the ramp and started across the tarmac, walking as calmly as though nothing had happened, still looking for Rinoa. He knew she was coming for him, he could feel her joy.

Then, like the sun bursting through the clouds, the crowd of people seemed to part for her and she ran through, straight toward him. He watched her approach, a slow smile beginning as he continued walking. She looked beautiful; the most beautiful, radiant woman he'd ever seen.

Her eyes were wide and moist, tears still tracking down her flushed cheeks, lips slightly parted as she ran. She wore a pretty dress that Squall didn't recall ever seeing before, in a pale, almost white color. It fluttered and moved with her the way only silk would, and Squall thought she looked beautiful in it. A wicked thought surfaced that she would look even better_ out _ of it.

He didn't care that their reunion was gaining the attention of the gathered press as well as the crew and their families that were still out there. His focus was completely on the young woman hurtling toward him.

_"I'm home, angel. I'm HOME."_

Then she was in his arms, kissing him, and nothing else mattered at all.

************************************************************************************************************************

It made a beautiful front-page photo. The stoic, brave commander engaged in a passionate kiss with his lady. Laguna thought about contacting the photographer and asking for a copy. He didn't know if Squall would want one or not, but_ he_ certainly did. It would look great framed on his desk.

They were still kissing when Laguna and Ellone had caught up with Rinoa, with Squall completely oblivious to the increasing crowd of photographers snapping away at them. Unusual for him, but Laguna certainly could understand his inattention. He had more important things to focus on.

Laguna knew the questions would start as soon as they came up for air, reporters being what they were, and he hoped…. well, he hoped for the best. As it turned out, it wasn't nearly as bad as both he and Squall had feared.

When they'd finished kissing, Squall visibly steeled himself, and then turned to face the press.

Laguna was honestly impressed as Squall calmly answered the questions that came his way, giving the press enough information to satisfy them… for the moment anyway, then excused himself and left with Rinoa, gesturing with his head for Laguna and Ellone to follow them.

It took a bit of doing for Laguna and Ellone to extricate themselves from the same knot of media representatives that Squall and Rinoa had just left, but Laguna was an old hand at that sort of thing and caught up with Squall and Rinoa just as they were getting ready to leave the Airstation.

"You're not going to leave without saying goodbye, are you?" Laguna had asked, trying not to feel hurt. He knew Squall wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but _still_..

"Not a chance." Squall had said, pulling both him and Ellone into a three-way hug. _That_ had surprised him. It wasn't something that Squall did, normally. Of course, nothing about the day thus far had been even close to normal, and coming to within seconds of dying had to have had an effect on him. Despite the fact that for Squall, close calls were his stock-in-trade.

Laguna picked up the newspaper and studied the photograph again. He wouldn't be surprised at all if the photographer won an award for it; it truly was a masterpiece. The article wasn't too bad either. It was accurate at least, which Laguna knew wasn't always the case.

Gazing thoughtfully at his phone, Laguna considered calling Squall to catch up, perhaps invite him to lunch or even see if he could convince his son to attempt a round of golf. He'd left Squall to his own devices yesterday, knowing that his son would prefer to spend his time with Rinoa. And while he'd originally intended to head back to Balamb today, the Ragnarok needed some extensive repairs, so Squall would be grounded for at least a week while it was being fixed.

Laguna laughed softly to himself as he tried to picture Squall playing golf. He likely wouldn't even see the point to it and give up in disgust. Show him a monster that needed killing and he was all over it. But direct him toward a purely recreational activity, like golf, and he was simply mystified. Most of the time, what Laguna would consider recreation; Squall would consider a frivolous waste of time. Although, he _had_ been known to play cards on occasion.

Given Squall's usually controlled expression, Laguna figured he had to be a killer poker player. He was the very definition of "poker faced". Laguna suddenly grinned, an idea forming.

With Squall's departure delayed for a week, even working remotely he'd still have a lot of time on his hands. Enough time for a game of cards.

Reaching for his phone, Laguna dialed Squall's number.

************************************************************************************************************************

"So, what's for breakfast, Rin?" Squall murmured softly into Rinoa's ear, kissing her gently on the neck and sliding his arms around her from behind. She stood at the stove in the kitchen, poking at an egg that she was frying. And looking sexy as hell in her black silk robe.

"I thought I might attempt an egg or two." She answered, shivering as Squall nibbled at her neck again.

"Looks good so far." He commented, trailing kisses up her neck to her cheek. He rubbed his cheek against hers and she leaned into it, closing her eyes and smiling as she felt his smooth, freshly shaven skin against hers. She smelled soap and clean skin, and nothing else. Squall hated most cologne and so rarely wore any. She didn't mind, in fact, she liked the way his skin smelled.

Turning, she kissed him softly. And just like that, any thought of breakfast or anything else went right out of her head as Squall gently, softly kissed and nibbled at her lips before pulling her close and kissing her deeply. Pressing her against him, his hands roamed up and down her back as he continued tasting and teasing her lips. Pulling back, he smiled at her, eyes sparkling.

Leaning close, he whispered into her ear, "Rin?"

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"The egg is burning." He grinned at her. Gasping, she turned around to rescue her latest attempt at breakfast, shoving Squall back with a frown.

"Damn it Squall!" He leaned back against the counter, chuckling. He folded his arms across his chest, already dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans. Looking too good for words, in Rinoa's opinion.

"Sorry," he said, unrepentant.

"You…Meanie! This one's yours!" She scowled, plopping the egg onto a plate and shoving it at him.

He took it, still grinning, saying, "Thank you. Brat."

As he took his plate to the table, Rinoa added, "and don't you _dare_ feed it to Angelo!"

_Damn._

"Sorry buddy," he said, patting Angelo's expectant head as he sat down. The dog whined softly and lay down next to his chair, gazing soulfully up at him. Squall shrugged. Angelo sighed and laid his head on his paws.

He studied the egg on his plate. It wasn't that bad, a little overcooked but then again, it_ was_ his fault that it had ended up that way. Anyway, it was a _real_ egg, not the stuff they'd called food that he'd had to eat on board the Ragnarok for a week. So, snagging a piece of toast, he began eating.

He'd only taken a couple of bites when the phone rang. Sighing, he got up and went to answer it.

"Hello?" He hoped it wasn't another interview request. As far as Squall was concerned, the questions he'd answered yesterday after landing were all that he'd needed to answer. He didn't see any point to reiterating the same thing over and over again, and the repeated requests to retell the same damn story were getting on his nerves.

"Hi son, how's everything going?" Laguna asked.

Squall relaxed, answering, "Fine, so far. You at work already?"

"Yeah, but I had a minute and thought I'd give you a call. You got any plans for later on tonight?" Laguna asked.

Squall frowned, sipping at his coffee and trying to think if there was anything that he was intending to do later. Besides Rinoa, that was. Logging into Balamb Garden's network to check and answer email didn't take very long; neither did answering and returning phone calls. His cellphone was always on and there was always voicemail, so he wasn't completely out of contact.

Finally he answered, "Well, aside from hanging out at home with Rinoa, nothing really. Why?"

"Well, I thought we'd get together with Ward and Kiros for a card game at my place." Laguna said.

"Cards? What game?" Squall asked, intrigued. He was a decent triple triad player, and had even tried his hand at poker a time or two.

"Poker. Hold 'em." Laguna answered. Squall frowned. That was Irvine's game. He was more familiar with straight poker. Still, he shrugged. Could be fun.

"Okay. Not real familiar with hold 'em but I've played poker before. What time do you want us there?" Squall asked.

"How's eight sound?" Laguna asked.

"Sounds fine. I'll see you then." Squall answered, hanging up the phone.

Then…

"SQUALL!" Rinoa's angry voice made him wince.

"Rin?" He asked, heading back to the dining room, wondering what had gotten her angry. When he got there, he saw several things at once. Rinoa, glaring at him, eyes snapping in anger, his plate where he'd left his partially eaten egg, polished clean, and Angelo licking his chops and looking innocent.

"I _told_ you not to feed the egg to him!" she said, arms folded and wearing an angry pout.

"Uh…." He began, then decided against it and snapped his mouth shut. Rinoa sniffed and stormed out of the dining room.

Sighing, Squall leaned his forehead into his hand for a moment, and then looked down at Angelo, who wagged his stubby tail and pricked his ears up alertly.

"What are you doing to me? We had an agreement." Squall said to him. Angelo tilted his head to one side, and whined.

Shaking his head, Squall left the room to go after Rinoa. His bemusement at the situation faded as he felt the hurt coming from her. He found her back in the kitchen, wiping tears from her eyes.

_"Rin? Are you okay?"_ he sent, beginning to worry.

She shook her head, sniffling, _"I tried Squall. I really did. You nearly died yesterday and all I wanted to do was cook you a decent breakfast for a change. I know the egg was overcooked but it wasn't my fault…"_

_"Ah, Rin…"_ he sighed, taking her into his arms. He held her close, kissing the top of her head.

"I know it wasn't your fault," he said softly, stroking her hair. "Laguna called and I got up to answer the phone. Angelo must have snatched it while my back was turned. You saved my life, angel. I'd have eaten that egg even if you'd burned it black."

"Really?" she sniffled. He pulled back from her and gently wiped the tears from her eyes. Placing his finger under her chin, he tilted her head up and met her eyes, smiling gently.

"Yes. That was the first_ real_ egg I'd eaten in a week. Overcooked or not, it was the best thing I'd tasted in awhile." He said, and then bent down to kiss her.

"Besides _this_," he whispered, rubbing his lips lightly over hers and gradually deepening the kiss, fusing their lips together. The feel of her warm body under the silk, the taste and texture of her lips against his…

He was very tempted to carry her back to bed and spend the next hundred years making love to her. But first…

"Feel up to giving it another try? I won't bug you this time." Squall asked her, eyes apologetic for his earlier distraction. He stroked her hair lightly, loving its silky feel.

Wiping her eyes and sniffling, Rinoa nodded, "Okay." Squall gave her a final squeeze before releasing her. As she turned back toward the stove, he caught her hand. She looked back at him, curious.

"Thank you." He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"For what?" she asked.

"For saving my life. Again." Squall answered softly.

Rinoa's eyes filled again, and she replied, "I had to. I couldn't bear it, if I'd lost you."

"I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Rinoa." Squall said seriously.

Then he smiled again as he observed, "You know, it occurs to me that you've saved_ my_ life almost as often as I've saved yours."

Rinoa snorted, "hardly. I swear you had to save my life just about every day when we were on the quest to defeat Ultimecia."

"Well, you save my life every day you draw breath. Just knowing you're there for me gives me a reason to keep trying, keep fighting. No matter what I'm doing, what situation I'm in. Knowing you're there gives me the strength to keep going." Squall told her.

Rinoa nodded, swallowing. It was daunting to realize that Squall needed her as much as she needed him. Then she smiled to herself as she also realized that that was probably the most heartfelt statement from him that she'd ever heard.

Squeezing his hand back, she asked him, "how do you like your eggs?"


	9. Luminescent

"Men, the game is hold 'em. Twenty gil buy-in. Kiros, you're the small blind, Ward you're the big blind. My deal." Laguna said, dexterously shuffling the cards, and then dealing them out. Squall sat to his right, Kiros to his left, Ward directly opposite. Both Kiros and Ward pushed their chips into the pot as Laguna dealt out the cards.

Rinoa had opted out of the poker night, citing unfamiliarity with the game, plus a desire for a "girls night" out with Ellone. When Squall had protested that, she'd firmly told him that like it or not, _he_ deserved a "guys night" as well. Since that was something Squall had very little experience with, he figured a poker night with his father and his father's friends was a good place to start.

Like any good strategist, Squall took some time to familiarize himself with the rules of the game and how it was played, so felt reasonably confident that he wouldn't embarrass himself at least.

"So Laguna, how much you planning on losing to me tonight?" Kiros asked as he checked his cards and slid two chips into the pot. Ward snorted and added two chips. Squall, after checking his cards, followed suit with two chips of his own.

"Who says I'm gonna lose? The house never loses." Laguna demanded, discarding the top card on the deck, and laying three cards down, face up. Expressionless, Squall studied them. Three, five and ten, mostly off suit, but the five and ten were both spades.

"In Trabia maybe." Kiros said, sipping at his beer and giving Squall a conspiratorial wink. Then he pushed in three chips, raising the bet. Ward grunted and rolled his eyes while adding his chips to the pot, and Squall bit back a smile at the exchange, pushing over a stack of his own chips, matching Kiros' bet.

"Turn." Laguna said, laying down another card and shooting Kiros a glare. Squall studied the cards intently, absently sipping at his beer as he did so. Nine of Clubs.

"You know Squall, you _are_ allowed to speak during the game." Kiros said with a quirk to his lips. Squall watched as he pushed in a stack of four chips. Ward pursed his lips, thinking.

"I know." Squall said.

"Too bad Rinoa and Elle decided to go off on their own tonight. We could have used a couple more hands." Laguna commented.

Squall shrugged, "she said she needed a girls night out, and figured I should do the same." He sipped at his beer again, waiting for Ward to decide if he was betting or folding.

"Smart girl. I knew she was a keeper." Kiros grinned. Ward finally slashed his hand across his throat and laid his cards face down on the table, sliding them toward Laguna.

"Ward's out." Kiros said unnecessarily. Squall nodded and slid a stack of four chips into the pot.

"River." Laguna said, laying down the final card. The table fell silent as both Squall and Kiros pondered their respective hands. Three. Diamonds.

Squall's hole cards, on the surface, _looked_ strong. Ace-King, both spades. But the cards on the table didn't do much for them. The potential early on, had been there for a flush or a straight, but the right cards hadn't turned up. Squall had considered folding on The Turn, but instead had decided to go for a bluff instead. Reckless to bluff on the first hand, but Squall tended toward aggressive play, and the low number of hands in the game favored aggression.

If he'd read Kiros right, he'd either call or fold on this round. He hoped so, at any rate. He didn't want to get caught up in a betting duel with him. Kiros had been betting aggressively too, so either he had a good hand or he was trying to bluff Squall out.

The smart thing to do would be to simply fold and wait for a better hand on the next round. But they were already at the river, and Squall had to wait for Kiros to complete his turn and either call, fold or bet. If Kiros bet, then Squall would fold. He didn't have enough funds with him to keep throwing good gil after bad.

They locked eyes, Squall waiting patiently for Kiros to decide on his action, while Kiros seemed fine with simply watching Squall. A smile quirked at the corners of Kiros' lips as they continued their stare down.

Chuckling, Kiros commented, indicating Squall, "You don't want to get into a staring contest with this guy."

"I could have told you that," Laguna snorted. "He can stare down a cat."

"Hell of a poker face too." Kiros said.

"You don't know the half of it," said Laguna.

"When you're staring down the barrel of a gun, its usually a good idea not to let the other guy know how scared you are." Squall commented, then he added mentally,_ right before you cut his head off…_ Ward, Kiros and Laguna exchanged a look.

"Yeah, I heard that." Kiros said, then he sighed, placing his cards face down and sliding them toward Laguna.

"I fold. Your show, son." Kiros said, smiling.

Squall laid his cards on the table face up. Kiros stared. Laguna burst out laughing. Ward grinned.

"You gotta be kidding me." Kiros sputtered, stunned. Squall shrugged, lips quirked in a half-smile.

"That was pretty awesome Squall, great bluff!" Laguna said, still laughing as Squall moved the chips over to his side.

"I'll probably never be able to repeat it though," Squall said, sipping his beer. Kiros shook his head in amazement.

"I never thought I'd see the day where _you_ got out-bluffed!" Laguna grinned at Kiros.

"That's definitely a first." Kiros admitted. Ward nodded, grinning.

Then he turned to Squall, asking him, "I thought you said you'd never played this game before?"

"I've played straight poker, not hold 'em. Not real familiar with it but the basics are pretty much the same." Squall answered.

Laguna moved the dealer button over to Kiros, telling him, "Your deal." Then he added in anticipation, rubbing his hands, "now its _my_ turn to see if I can win the pot!"

"Good luck," said Kiros, taking the deck and starting to shuffle. "We both know you're gonna need it. You can't bluff your way out of a paper bag."

"I can so!" Laguna protested.

"Not so I'd noticed." Kiros said, passing the cards to Ward, who cut them.

"Yeah? What about that budget caucus last week?" Laguna challenged.

Kiros snorted, "You didn't bluff, you _stalled_ because you forgot your speech." Ward passed the cards back to Kiros, and he resumed shuffling.

Laguna sputtered, "Bu- but…What about the trade negotiations in Galbadia? That was a pretty serious bluff right there, you gotta admit!"

"That wasn't a bluff, though I gotta give it to you, that was some pretty impressive negotiation. Although I think it was largely due to the glowering mercenary you had sitting next to you." Kiros said. Squall snorted. Ward rumbled in amusement.

"Three hours out of my life that I'll never get back." Squall interjected wryly.

Laguna chuckled at that, then jabbed his finger at Kiros, "I did SO bluff! Remember? The council hadn't voted on the concessions Galbadia wanted yet; I hadn't had a chance to address them! But I had to make them _think_ that the council had voted it down so they'd come back with a better deal. "

Kiros paused, looking thoughtful, then said slowly, "you know, you're right. That _was_ a pretty good bluff. I'll admit you _can_ come through when it really counts Laguna."

"Now, see? Did it kill you to admit that?" Laguna asked.

"Damn near." Kiros retorted.

"Deal the damn cards already Kiros." Laguna growled.

The next round of play went much differently for Squall. He had a better hand, but as he soon found out, his father actually _could_ pull a good bluff. Laguna almost had it, until Ward called and won the pot with two pair, aces and queens.

Ward dealt after Kiros' turn, and Squall had a great time just watching his father and Kiros play off each other. He took the pot again with a full house.

Squall was dealer on the last round of the night. So far, he'd won just enough to keep the play interesting and fun. He wouldn't consider himself a card shark by any means, but he was competent enough to enjoy himself in a friendly game. And of course, it was always nice to go home with more gil than you left with. Maybe not _much_ more, but the point was, he hadn't _lost_ a lot.

And he just had to laugh at Laguna's exuberance at _finally_ winning a hand.

"Man, I can't believe I didn't win _one_ hand." Kiros shook his head, as he got ready to leave.

"Hey, you can't win all the time Kiros, what's the fun in that?" Laguna said. Ward rumbled and made some obscure gestures.

Kiros laughed, "You're right, just the luck of the cards." Turning to Squall, he added, "it was fun having you in the game. We'll have to get together again sometime."

Squall nodded, and smiled slightly, "if we happen to be in town. I'll invite Irvine and Zell along if you need some more players. I know Irvine at least can play the game."

"You do that. The more players the better." Kiros said, then added, "next game's at my place guys. Next weekend?" Ward rumbled and nodded. Laguna looked thoughtful, then nodded as well.

Turning to Squall, he asked, "how about you? Think you'll stick around for another game?"

"Kinda depends on how long it takes to fix the Ragnarok. I _should_ be back in Balamb by then." Squall said, adding, "there's this little matter of a wedding I need to get ready for, remember?"

"That's still two weeks away. You got time." Kiros grinned, teeth flashing whitely.

"_I_ might. But trust me, Rinoa will need that two weeks. Final details to see to, that sort of thing…" Squall shrugged. Then he grimaced as he suddenly remembered that he still had to talk to Cid about the whole marriage license question.

Laguna, catching his expression, asked him, "something wrong?"

"No, I just remembered I need to talk to Cid about something." Squall answered as he headed for the door. "I'll talk to you later."

"Good night Squall, give Rinoa a hug for me." Laguna said.

Squall smiled, "of course. Good night dad. Good night Kiros, Ward."

"See you at the wedding if I don't see you before then," Kiros said, shaking Squall's hand. Ward nodded his agreement, grinning, and engulfed Squall's hand in his huge paw, shaking it as well.

************************************************************************************************************************

As Squall made his way through the labyrinthine palace back to the rooms he and Rinoa used while visiting, he sent a questing tendril of thought out to her.

_"Rin? I'm on my way back… are you still out with Ellone?"_

_"No, we're back. We've just been hanging out and talking."_ She sent, and Squall smiled at how happy she sounded and felt.

_"I'm glad you had fun. What are you talking about?"_ He sent, curiously. He almost laughed aloud at the amusement that came from her as she answered him.

_"Girl talk. Trust me, it would bore you."_ Squall chuckled softly to himself, acknowledging that it probably would.

_"Hey! You don't have to agree with me!"_ Rinoa sent in mock outrage. Squall's response was a surge of warmth, letting the positive energy tell her more than his words could. The calm happiness that she sent back made Squall wish he was home with her already.

_Did you have fun playing poker with Uncle Laguna?_ Ellone asked him, and Squall tilted his head a moment, as he considered the way each woman felt inside his mind. With both linked at the same time, he could tell right away that Ellone's method of "connecting" with his mind was vastly different from Rinoa's. He couldn't find the words to describe the differences, but they were there.

_Squall?_ Ellone prompted.

_Sorry Elle, I was distracted for a moment. It's weird… it FEELS different when you're connected. Different from Rinoa…it's hard to describe it._ Squall told her. He pondered that for a moment, then decided to put it aside to think about later.

_To answer your question Sis, I had a great time._ He sent. The "guy's night out" idea was a great one, and Squall hoped he could do it again.

_I'm glad._ She responded.

_I'm almost there; so don't run off without at least letting me say good night._ Squall said.

True to his word, he arrived just a few moments later to be greeted with the mouthwatering aroma of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and two very attractive young women, smiling at him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and inhaled deeply.

"Okay, who made the cookies?" He asked. Ellone and Rinoa traded a conspiratorial glance and laughed softly.

"I did." Rinoa said proudly.

Squall stared, _"really?"_

Rinoa bounced up from the couch where she had been sitting with Ellone, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen where the plate of cookies sat on the counter. Ellone followed, still smiling at his stunned expression.

"Try one. I promise you, they're perfectly fine. Ellone helped me bake these." Rinoa urged, handing him a cookie.

Giving it a dubious look, Squall said, "you know I'm allergic to chocolate, right?" The slack-jawed look of surprise on Rinoa's face was priceless and Squall couldn't help laughing. Ellone joined him.

"I'm kidding, Rin. These look great." He said, taking a bite. He rolled his eyes and gave them thumbs up while he chewed.

He grinned at Rinoa after he finished it and she smacked his arm, saying "You MEANIE!"

"Yup. I'm terrible." He acknowledged, pulling her into his arms and hugging her.

Ellone, smiling, said, "I'd better get going. You guys have a good night."

Detaching himself from Rinoa for a moment, Squall went over to Ellone and gave her a hug as well, kissing her cheek.

"Good night sis." He smiled, walking her to the door. After closing and locking it behind her, he returned to the kitchen to see Rinoa munching on a cookie. The one he'd sampled was sitting on the counter where he'd laid it before escorting Ellone to the door. Retrieving it, he took another bite, and leaned back against the counter as he ate, savoring it.

It was perfect, still slightly warm from the oven, soft, rich and chocolaty. A rare treat for him, since he didn't usually indulge in sweets, and no one he knew baked…until now. A vague memory surfaced of Matron baking cookies for all of them at the orphanage, but apart from that, he couldn't actually remember the last time he'd actually had a treat like that.

_"You really don't remember the last time you had a chocolate chip cookie? Are you kidding me?"_ Rinoa sent, incredulous. Squall shrugged.

_"Obviously, another one of those 'good things' in life that I've missed out on. I'm glad you've taken on the daunting challenge of educating me."_ He smiled at her.

"It _has_ been a challenge too," she said, finishing her cookie and licking a stray dollop of chocolate from her finger. She leaned back against the breakfast bar opposite Squall, smiling at him. A fleck of chocolate still sat at the corner of Rinoa's mouth where her tongue had missed it, and Squall found his attention riveted by it. He suddenly wanted to kiss her, _thoroughly_.

Moving closer to her, Squall murmured, "You um…still have a bit of chocolate… on your lips." Frowning, she licked her lips and Squall nearly groaned at the sight of her pink tongue moistening them.

"Did I get it?" she asked, smiling suddenly as Squall leaned in closer and she felt the smoldering desire radiating from him.

"Not yet," he said softly, lips hovering briefly over hers before he claimed them. Starting lightly, he brushed his lips against hers, running his tongue over her lips and tasting sweet chocolate. As her lips parted slightly he opened his mouth and pulled her in closer, kissing her deeply and losing himself to her taste and texture. To the sensation of kissing and being kissed.

Grabbing her around the waist, Squall picked Rinoa up and set her on the counter in front of him, finding that gave him a perfect vantage to continue kissing his way back to her earlobe and down her neck. He smiled as she sighed and shivered, molding herself to him as he stood between her knees, wrapping her legs around him.

Pulling back briefly, he whispered, "I got it." Then he claimed her lips again.

Damn, he wanted to make love to her right there….

_"That's an exciting idea, but…we cook FOOD in here…"_ Rinoa sent with equal parts of amusement and desire.

_"Ugh. Good point. Bed then."_ He responded, pulling her off the counter and carrying her toward the bedroom. Rinoa tightened her legs around his waist and put her arms around his neck to help him support her. Not that he appeared to need it, carrying her weight easily.

_"Yes. More comfortable."_ She replied, cheek against his. He tightened his arms and pulled her closer, laughing softly in her ear. The laughter turned to a growl when Rinoa gently nipped his earlobe.

When they made it to the bedroom, Squall sat down on the bed, Rinoa now sitting on his lap facing him. Still holding her tightly to him, Squall closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his cheek against hers, sighing. Rinoa did the same, combing her fingers through his thick, silky hair.

"That feels good." He whispered into her ear, kissing it softly.

"This was a perfect day, wasn't it?" Rinoa said, continuing to run her fingers through his hair.

"Almost." He smiled, pulling back to kiss her again, adding, "It isn't over yet." Rinoa laughed softly, finding ample evidence beneath her derriere that Squall was definitely not ready to sleep yet.

She closed her eyes and gave herself up to his kisses and caresses, his hands moving under her shirt to undo her bra and pull both it and her shirt off over her head. Rinoa's head fell back as Squall trailed kisses down her neck, cupping her breasts and teasing the nipples with his thumbs.

He felt Rinoa's body shudder as he took one into his mouth, even as the thrill of what she was feeling fed into him. He wanted to take it slow, master the passion this time instead of being swept along in its wake, but as it built and surged within them both he realized it would be easier to tame a dragon.

Still, he managed to hold it at bay for a little while, concentrating wholly on Rinoa and her body, making her sigh, moan and shudder at a touch _here_, a kiss _there_. Then she turned the tables on him, making her desire to touch, tease and tantalize _him_ clear.

_"What do you want?"_ He loved that Rinoa felt confident enough to be the aggressor on occasion, and was more than happy to let her have her way.

_"I want YOU..."_ She sent, showing him exactly what she intended by attacking his belt and pulling his jeans off. Then she proceeded to literally blow his mind.

_"You're getting better at this.."_ he gulped, dragging in a shuddering breath. Any thought of controlling and directing the passionate energies flowing between them melted away as Rinoa's lips and tongue assaulted his already aching hardness. Any thought _at all_ faded from his consciousness.

_"Practice makes perfect,"_ she thought wickedly as Squall groaned and writhed under her hands.

"Enough! You're driving me crazy!" He growled, pulling Rinoa up onto the bed and stripping the rest of her clothing from her. He was beyond thought by that point; all he could do was feel. And what he felt was an aching hunger, clamoring to be filled.

Still, he managed to slow down a little and trail his fingers down Rinoa's belly to her mound, stroking and teasing her there. She gasped and squirmed, and the ache sharpened for them both.

_"NOW! Please.."_

Squall sealed their joining with a deep passionate kiss as he filled her emptiness and soothed his ache at the same time, no longer even trying to tame the dragon, simply riding along as it swept them away. They moved together, following the tide, moving closer to completion with each ebb and flow.

Increasing the pace of his movements, Squall both saw and felt its effect on his lover and watched as he pushed them both over the edge. Rinoa's shuddering completion brought on Squall's own release and they held each other tightly as the intense sensations overwhelmed them both.

Squall kissed her gently in its aftermath, stroking sweat-dampened hair back from Rinoa's face. She'd closed her eyes while in the throes of passion, and they'd remained closed while Squall kissed her. He drew back for a moment, and smiled down at her as she slowly opened her eyes and gave a languorous sigh.

As she did, Squall's breath caught and he froze for a moment.

"Squall? Is something the matter?" she asked, feeling his shock.

"Your eyes, Rin." He whispered, staring.

"My eyes? What about them?" she frowned in confusion.

"They…they've turned gold." He swallowed, not sure what it meant. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened while they were making love, and nothing, aside from Rinoa's eyes shimmering with a golden sheen, was happening now.

He'd only seen her eyes turn golden like that when she'd manifested her power in some way. But, she wasn't doing anything that he was aware of. Was she?

"Really? But.. I'm not doing anything…" she began, but Squall shushed her and watching her carefully, withdrew from her. As he did, the golden sheen began to fade. As he watched, her eyes gradually regained their original brown color.

"Huh." He lay on his side, studying her thoughtfully. When he felt her begin to worry, he pulled her close to reassure her that he wasn't _afraid_ of what he'd seen, merely surprised. He could still feel the afterglow that she was feeling as well, and when he closed his eyes, he fancied he could even see the bond itself.

Then it hit him. The golden conduit between Rinoa and him was part and parcel of her power as a sorceress, and perhaps the energies that they released during their lovemaking fed into that pool of power that only she could tap. The more positive the energy, the more power it contained.

Perhaps, that was the reason why each sorceress had a knight, and the closer the bond between sorceress and knight, the more powerful and stable, the sorceress was. Records of earlier sorceress–knight duos were woefully incomplete, but the most infamous of the evil sorceresses in the past, one and all, had been alone. Not one of them had had a knight as a protector and companion.

As far as Cid and Edea went…well, something must have happened to fracture their relationship somehow, something that had left Edea vulnerable to Utimecia's possession.

_"Squall?"_ Rinoa sent, still worried and frightened. He calmed her fears and showed her what he'd reasoned about the occurrence.

_"Do you feel any different?"_ he asked, curiously, while lightly stroking her back.

"Warm, satisfied, content. And loved. No different really from any other time that we've made love." She answered softly.

Squall smiled and kissed her softly, "nice to know that."

"So…. you think when we're together, it feeds my power?" Rinoa asked, frowning.

"Maybe. I can still feel it flowing between us, and when we're making love… well, you know how…._Powerful_ that feels. Shouldn't be a surprise that you'd be able to tap into that." Squall yawned and rolled onto his back, pulling Rinoa close to pillow her head on his chest. She immediately began lightly stroking his chest and playing with his necklace. He smiled slightly. She always did that.

Smiling, Rinoa commented, "You know, I heard from somewhere that chocolate is an aphrodisiac."

Squall chuckled, "well, I guess you have proof positive that it's true. Certainly worked for me." He lapsed into silence, stroking her hair.

_"I still can't believe you actually baked me cookies. That's just… amazing."_ Squall thought.

_"What's so amazing about it? I'm not THAT bad.."_ Rinoa sent, feeling a little hurt.

_"I never doubted that you could LEARN how to cook, given half a chance. I'm just amazed that you did something like that for me. It was… incredibly sweet of you, and damn sexy to boot."_ Squall reassured her, sending his admiration and appreciation for what she had accomplished.

_"Well, Ellone DID help…"_ Rinoa admitted.

_"I'll have to thank her for that."_ Squall thought. Rinoa snuggled closer and sighed, prompting Squall to roll back onto his side facing her, pulling her close against him. He gave her a soft, lingering kiss, smoothing his hand down her back and over her hip.

Pulling back, he grinned wickedly at her, saying, "I think I need another cookie."

Rinoa snorted in reply, "not so _I'd_ notice…" He laughed at that, then quieted as she pulled him into another kiss. This time, the humming energy still simmering between them heated up and Squall felt its warmth down to his toes.

"Wow." He gasped, pulling back to see Rinoa's eyes had gone golden again.

"You did that?" he asked, feeling energized and almost giddy. Like he'd had two cups of strong coffee.

She nodded, "I wanted to see if I could give some of that energy back to you. Apparently it worked."

"The potential uses for this ability are _very_ interesting…" Squall murmured, kissing her deeply. Already molded close to his body, Rinoa could feel his arousal returning.

"Want to see how much energy we can stoke up this time?" Rinoa asked between kisses.

"You read my mind." Squall said, moving over Rinoa's body and settling himself there once again. She stroked her hands up his back, feeling the slide of muscle under smooth skin as he shifted and adjusted his position. When he slid into her body once more, Rinoa couldn't hold back a moan as her already sensitized nerve endings made the pleasure more intense.

This time, with the initial surge of passion already past, Squall was able to set a more leisurely pace and concentrated on the play of sensation and emotion between them. It was softer, slower, and sweeter, but in the end the power that built up and surged between them was every bit as strong and overwhelming as the explosive storm that they'd generated earlier. It was so much a part of their lovemaking experience, Squall hadn't realized that it was actually part of Rinoa's magic…. _and_ his own power, the strength that unlocked the full might of his Lionheart blade.

_He_ could only tap into that strength when pushed to the limit of his endurance. But Rinoa could draw it from him at will…_and_ give it back to him. He fully intended to ponder the full import of that later.

For the moment however, he was more interested in what both he and Rinoa were feeling. When the coiled tension within both of their bodies urged Squall to increase his pace, instead he staved it off and slowed down, watching Rinoa's reactions with each slow, deep, thrust. She clutched convulsively at his back, not quite digging her nails in yet, but on the edge of it. When her body, mind and heart cried out for more, he answered it.

He could feel it, the warm rush underlying everything they did, building up as their passion built. With each thrust now, Squall could see the golden light flaring in Rinoa's eyes, and he watched it, fascinated. A light rake of nails down his back made Squall shiver and then Rinoa raked him in earnest, urging him on. Then she shuddered with a gasping, throaty cry and came apart in his arms. He shivered in sympathy and followed her, gasping into the side of her neck.

Rinoa closed her eyes, caressing Squall's sweat-slicked back, loving the feel of his body against and inside her still. Having nearly lost him, she wanted to hold him to her as long as she could, imprint the memory into her mind and heart. The feel of his heart pounding against hers, the heat and sweat generated by their lovemaking, the warm energies that they'd released… she reveled in it all, and greedily took it in and made it part of her.

He'd told her that he thought she was stronger than she believed she was. She was glad of his faith in her, but she never, ever wanted it tested again. She didn't want to have to try to go on living without him, if anything should happen to take him from her. What she'd learned from Edea about the bond told her that while it _could_ be weakened, only death could sever it. And because it was forged with the deepest magic of all, love, the severing of that bond could be devastating to the sorceress. To _her_. Despite Squall's faith in her strength, Rinoa didn't think she'd be able to survive the recoil of power if that should happen.

If she _did_ manage to survive…. Madness waited. History had been clear on that point. Not one sorceress had escaped it once her knight had died or been killed.

She feared it, but she had a plan in place if the unthinkable happened. Before madness took her, she would come to Esthar and allow herself to be frozen in stasis. Better that than live in her grief and pain and visit it upon the entire world.

She closed her eyes and brought her hand up, caressing Squall's hair. He kissed the side of her neck and raised his head, gazing down at her, willing her to open her eyes. When she did, he smiled.

"Still golden." He commented, and then kissed her gently. "Even brighter than before, actually." Then he frowned, sensing Rinoa's mood.

Stroking her hair, he asked, "What's wrong?" Rinoa bit her lip, hesitating.

_"Rin?"_ he prompted, love and concern coloring his inquiry.

_"I love you so much Squall. It would kill me to lose you."_ She said. He smiled and kissed her, then realized she'd meant it would _literally_ kill her.

_"Wait. You mean if I died…"_ he began. She nodded.

_"It's a good possibility. We've bonded so tightly, so strongly, that if that bond were severed the power would recoil back on me. Strong as you think I am, I might not survive it. And if I DID manage to survive, I'd be insane. Your-OUR – friends would have to kill me anyway. Unless I remained sane long enough to get to Esthar to be frozen."_ Rinoa sent.

Squall swallowed, not sure of what to say or think. If doing his job put _both_ of their lives at risk…

_"I can't stop being who and what I am."_ He sent.

_"I know. Neither can I."_ Rinoa responded.

_"What do we do then? What CAN we do?"_ Squall thought, helplessly.

_"We go on as we are. We simply live our lives. I want us to be happy and worrying about this will destroy us. Don't let it. As long as we're together, whatever happens afterward doesn't matter."_ Rinoa sent, her firm resolve coming through clearly.

_"Together. Yes. Of course. We're stronger as a team than either one of us is alone."_ Squall mused.

Caressing her cheeks, Squall said softly, "from now on, no matter what I'm doing, what assignment I'm sent on, you're coming with me. You said it yourself, we're stronger together…. It doesn't matter that you're not a SeeD; I know you've been taking classes at Garden and I know you've been spending a lot of time with Dr. Kadowaki…"

"I've been trying to learn how to use my power to heal. I don't want to destroy anyone, or anything, I never did. But... I managed to save your life by healing you in Deling City when you were shot, and I thought that maybe if I practiced I'd get better at it and be able to heal…anything. So far I can heal even a mortal wound if I get to the victim before he dies. I can't beat death, but anything besides an instantly fatal wound I can heal, and I don't need potions or stocked magic to do it." Rinoa said. Squall shifted, moving off of her, laying back onto the bed and leaving Rinoa feeling bereft.

Touching the coin-sized bullet scar on his chest, Squall said, "You certainly saved me. I know I wouldn't have survived this wound otherwise." Rinoa snuggled close to his side, caressing Squall's chest and brushing her fingers over the scar he'd indicated. Trailing her hand upward, she traced another faint scar on his upper chest just under his collarbone. This one was a jagged, three-inch slash, a reminder left behind by the ice javelin that Edea had impaled him with.

He'd been healed that time too. By Seifer or Edea, even he didn't know. When he'd fallen that night with that shard of ice going right through his body, Rinoa had been sure he was dead. That was when she began to learn exactly how tough the young SeeD she'd hired actually was. When she'd forced Irvine to help her rescue him and the rest of his friends, he'd obviously been treated roughly and was weak and battered. But he still fought his way through the prison and out. She was already halfway in love with him by then, though he still acted as if she were a burden and an annoyance.

Even now, years later, he wouldn't talk about what he'd endured there.

"Squall?" Rinoa asked softly.

"Hmm?" He sounded half-asleep. Rinoa smiled at that.

"I'm gonna get some cookies and milk. Want to join me?" She asked. Squall stretched and yawned, then nodded.

"Sure." He said, getting out of bed and grabbing his shorts. Rinoa got up and shrugged into her silk robe, smiling privately at the mileage she was getting out of it. Coming around the bed, she reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his, walking to the kitchen with him.

Taking a couple of small plates and glasses from the cupboard, she put some cookies on each and got the milk out of the refrigerator. As she poured the milk, Squall's arms came around her and he nuzzled at her cheek, kissing it. He reached over and took the milk from her when she was done and put it away, then took the plate and glass of milk she handed him and followed her to the dining room.

"What time is it?" Rinoa asked as they sat down.

Squall glanced down at his watch and answered, "Two."

"Cookies and milk at two A.M… can't think of anything more romantic than that." Rinoa smiled, taking a bite of one of her cookies.

"That's me, Mr. Romance." Squall said, grinning at her.

Rinoa wrinkled her nose and lifted a foot to shove his leg with it, saying, "It was _my_ idea."

"And I went along with it." He smiled. Rinoa laughed.

"For you that _is_ romantic." She smiled.

"Hey now, I'm not _that_ bad." He protested.

Rinoa laughed softly, "No, you're not. Not anymore."

Squall inclined his head with great dignity and said, "thank you." He took a bite of cookie, then a sip of the cool milk to wash it down. A dim memory surfaced of Matron, sitting him down with a small plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. When he tried to recall more details, they slipped away from him. He couldn't have been more than four, though he couldn't actually be sure.

"Matron made cookies like these." He commented, taking another bite.

"Who do you think taught Ellone?" Rinoa said. He paused, and then nodded.

"And then Ellone taught you." He stated. Rinoa nodded.

Squall reached his hand out to take hers, tugging on it gently.

"Come here." He said, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms securely around her. Rinoa put her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his.

"You know, it wouldn't have mattered to me if you ever learned how to cook or not." Squall said softly, caressing her back.

"I know. But I wanted to do this." Rinoa whispered. Squall tightened his arms around her and held her closely.

"Thank you." Then he sighed, "well, I don't know about you, but I think the aphrodisiac effect of your cookies just got trumped by sheer fatigue. You done?" Rinoa nodded. Squall drained the last bit of milk from his glass and Rinoa got up to collect the plates and cups and put them in the sink.

Squall disappeared into the bathroom briefly to make use of the facilities and brush his teeth (he hated dentists, so did his best to avoid needing to see one) and was settling himself in bed when Rinoa did the same thing and joined him.

After she turned off the light, she slid under the covers and into Squall's waiting arms, snuggling close. She nuzzled at the base of his neck, kissing him there and he tightened his arms around her in response, kissing the top of her head. He gave a deep sigh, and Rinoa felt him gradually relaxing into sleep.

_"Good night Squall."_ Her mind whispered to his.

_"Good night Rinoa. See you in the morning."_ He answered, and finally gave in to his body's demand for sleep.

Rinoa too, enveloped snugly in Squall's arms, feeling comfortable, safe and loved, eventually fell asleep.


	10. Inglorious

Squall sat uncomfortably in his SeeD uniform, wishing he were anywhere else but where he currently was. Rinoa sat next to him, calm, serene, and garbed in a deep, marine blue dress to match his uniform. She had refused to wear black. Only Squall knew that her discomfort and apprehension matched his.

They sat near the front of the assembly hall where an impressive throng of people had gathered to attend the memorial services for those Lunar Base technicians that had lost their lives during the Lunar Cry. While Squall understood and even appreciated the gesture that the families of the victims had extended to him and Rinoa in inviting them to the services, it didn't make it any easier for him to attend. This despite the fact that it was largely due to his efforts in retrieving those technicians that it was possible for their families to properly mourn them. He still felt awkward and out of place.

He didn't personally know any of the people being eulogized, for one thing. For another, Rinoa had been involved, at least peripherally, in the events that had led to their deaths. Thus far, no one had mentioned it, but he still felt tense and wary. Worried that someone, caught up in their grief, would remember that Rinoa had been there, and had been the catalyst that had led to their loss. And Squall knew exactly how unpredictable and unreasonable people could be when caught up in strong emotions like grief. When emotions take center stage, logic and reason go out the window.

Still, even Squall knew he couldn't refuse the invitation to attend. Memorials like this were never for the departed. They were always for those who were left behind. And it was for the crew that he'd worked with, for his family who'd watched him risk his life to retrieve the casualties, for _their_ families who now, at long last, were able to say a final good-bye; it was for them that Squall had decided to attend. As uncomfortable as it was for him, he felt a sense of responsibility to see his mission through to its actual ending.

The speakers droned on about each of the six people they were remembering, and Squall took a deep breath, nearly choking on the cloying smell of the flowers that flooded the stage on either side of the podium. Photo portraits of each of the technicians as they had been in life, stood upon easels that lined up on the floor in front of the raised stage where the podium sat. Six caskets, closed and likewise liberally bedecked in flowers, were ranked upon the stage behind the podium.

One thing was certain. As soon as he could, Squall was going to make an amendment to his will that stated in emphatic terms: _no flowers_. Of course, if he was dead, it wouldn't matter to him, and if anyone was left to mourn him, they could do whatever the hell they wanted. They likely would anyway.

_"How are you holding up Rin?"_ He silently asked her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

_"Okay I guess. I'm not sensing any hostility toward me, but that may simply be because I'm here with you, and face it, you're their hero. You brought these peoples' family members back to them for a proper burial. Nearly at the expense of your own life."_ Rinoa sent, squeezing his hand back.

There was nothing Squall could say to that. Rinoa was right. He still wished he were anywhere else but there however. He'd never liked attending memorials. Perhaps because it was as stark reminder of how brief and transitory life actually was. If even a highly trained, formidable SeeD could fall to bad luck, bad decisions or bad data, then what hope had anyone in this world?

_Face it; much as we like to pretend otherwise, none of us are immortal._ Squall thought privately.

The services concluded, much to Squall's relief. As he and Rinoa stood to make their way to the exit, he caught sight of Laguna, along with Kiros and Ward. He hadn't been there when Squall and Rinoa had arrived, and Squall hadn't thought he'd be able to attend. But then, he'd known and worked with these people, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that he'd make an effort to be there.

He waited, fingers still tangled with Rinoa's, while his father made his way over.

"Hi son. Thanks for showing up." He said, awkwardly. Squall studied him silently, surprised at how hard this had hit his father. Laguna looked every minute of his age, grief etched plainly in the lines on his face. The black suit he'd worn for the occasion gave Laguna an elegant, dignified air that Squall rarely saw in him. He wondered briefly, as undeniably handsome as his father was, why he was still alone. Then he shook his head, abandoning the thought. Why would he be worrying about his father's romantic life at a time like this?

Finally, Squall replied, "I guess I felt I needed to be here. I mean, I didn't know any of these people, but you'd asked, and several of the family members had also gotten into contact with me as well. So…" he shrugged, voice trailing off.

Laguna smiled slightly and said, "Well, I'm glad you're here."

They started walking together toward the exit, pausing now and then to greet and shake hands with the mourners present. Squall sighed inwardly as he caught sight of the ever-present news cameras filming the whole thing.

"The Ragnarok's fixed." Squall said as they made their way through the throng.

"So, you'll be leaving then." Laguna said.

Squall nodded, "tomorrow morning. I delayed it another day for this."

"And then it's your wedding day, about a week from yesterday." Laguna said. Squall nodded again.

"More or less," he said.

"Nervous?" Kiros asked, smiling.

Squall shook his head, gazing down at Rinoa with a slight smile, "no." She smiled back.

Then Laguna sighed, his usual exuberant energy tempered by the somber occasion and the grief he was plainly feeling.

"Well, have a safe trip home son," Laguna said, reaching his hand out to take Squall's. He was surprised when, yet again, Squall hugged him. Then he stepped back and Rinoa hugged him as well.

Then Squall shook Kiros' and Ward's hands, with Kiros saying, "see you at the wedding."

************************************************************************************************************************

"Squall just emailed Quistis, he's coming back tomorrow." Zell reported as he sat down opposite Irvine in the cafeteria.

"About damn time. Did he say anything about the Ragnarok? It's gotta be fixed otherwise he wouldn't be flying it back." Irvine said.

"Yeah, it's fixed. So we shouldn't have any issues with flying it to Trabia." Zell said.

"Good. Have you heard anything from Watts? Is he coming?" Irvine asked.

Zell nodded, "yeah, he just got into town yesterday. He's at the Balamb Hotel right now."

"Good, then everything's pretty much ready to go. The only thing left is getting Squall out to the Ragnarok when we're ready to take off, and I know just how to do that." Irvine said confidently.

"So all we need to do is pack up the Ragnarok and head out. We'll do that tomorrow night." Zell said.

Irvine grinned, "This is going to be _awesome_!"

Zell snorted, "better make sure you stock up on cure spells, because I have a feeling there's gonna be some ass-kicking involved."

"Hey, it ain't a party if we all don't get rip-roaring drunk, someone gets naked and someone else ends up with a black eye." Irvine said.

Zell stared at him, "what the hell kind of parties do you go to man?"

"The kind where if the bar's still standing, we didn't do it right." Irvine replied with a wicked grin.

Zell shook his head, "suddenly, I have a real bad feeling about this…"

"Oh, don't worry, nobody'll get hurt… at least, not _permanently_." Irvine smirked.

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall landed the Ragnarok gently on the plain next to Balamb Garden, sighing. He already knew there was bound to be a million things that he'd need to catch up on that he hadn't been able to get to remotely, although he did his best. Quistis and Xu had done a great job covering for him, but adding his duties to theirs for an extended period didn't sit well with him, they all had more than enough to do without him pulling less than his weight.

Rinoa smiled over at him from the copilot's seat and he smiled back as he cycled the engines down and opened the doors.

"Home, finally," she sighed.

"Yeah," Squall agreed, then he opened the comms and radioed in to confirm that he'd arrived and would be in his office in a few minutes.

Rinoa sighed, "another long night for you?" Unbuckling her restraints, she stood up. Doing the same, Squall took her hand, grabbed his duffel bag, and walked out of the Ragnarok with her.

"Hopefully not, but I do want to check to see if there's anything that needs attention now. I think I did pretty well keeping up with it remotely, but you never know." He said, putting his arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple.

"Well, don't be too long, and don't forget dinner." Rinoa said.

"Well, hopefully, I'll be done before then." Squall said as they entered Garden. Pausing at the turn off for the dorms, Squall gave her a quick kiss and continued toward the lift and his office as Rinoa turned toward the dorms.

Irvine pounded on Zell's door and announced without preamble as soon as it was opened, "The Ragnarok just landed. Call the guys and let's get this thing started." He leaned against the doorway, eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Now?" Zell asked, frowning.

"YES! Now, dammit! Squall's going to be holed up in his office now for hours. We can get everything loaded and ready and he won't have a clue." Irvine said, then added, rubbing his hands, "then all we'll have to do is get Squall on board. _And_ knock him out."

"And with the only qualified pilot besides your ex-girlfriend unconscious, who's gonna fly the Ragnarok, you?" Zell asked sarcastically.

"Sure. Its not that hard, I've watched Selphie enough." Irvine said confidently.

"God help us..." Zell muttered under his breath as he went to his phone.

Glaring over to Irvine, he added, "You _did_ buy the beer, right?"

"Yup. Enough to float us all the way to Esthar." Irvine confirmed.

"_Esthar_? I thought you said we were going to that casino resort in Trabia?" Zell said, confused.

"Figure of speech, dumbass. _But_, that reminds me…there's this place in FH we've just _got_ to see. Trust me, you will _not_ believe it." Irvine grinned wickedly.

Zell gave Irvine another sour glare for the "dumbass" remark, picked up his phone and started making calls. In less than an hour, everyone who'd been invited had assembled in Zell's room, much to his chagrin.

Irvine, as the instigator of this impending adventure, addressed the group with mock seriousness, "Men, we are about to embark upon a mission of utmost importance, one which will require all of our formidable skills as SeeDs. I don't think I need to remind you all that this action needs to be kept in strictest confidence, above top secret. So top secret in fact, not even our Commander knows about it. Our objective is to gain access to the Ragnarok without triggering any of its security protocols, load and secure several cases of various alcoholic beverages, abduct our illustrious commander and get him _completely_ wrecked. Failure to keep confident our plans before and the events that transpire after will be punished by permanent removal of your man card and a serious ass-kicking delivered by Zell Dincht." Zell nodded, his grim expression assuring everyone present that _he_ at least, took that statement seriously.

A chuckle from the assembled group caused Zell to frown.

Rubbing his hands together, Irvine said, "Alright guys, grab a case, and let's get us out to the Ragnarok." Suiting action to words, Irvine picked up a case of beer, with Zell and the other guys doing the same. They all trooped out to the Ragnarok, using a route that easily avoided detection by the security cameras that were almost ubiquitous in various areas of Garden. Once they reached the airship, Irvine typed in the security code to open the doors.

"Huh. I thought Squall would have changed the code by now." Zell commented.

"I guess almost _dying_ a few days ago made him forget to." Irvine said. Squall _had_ changed the code prior to leaving for Esthar, but Irvine had managed to talk Selphie into getting it for him.

Once the doors opened and the ramp extended, they all entered the ship and headed back toward the galley, stashing as much of the beer and other beverages as they could in the small fridge before stowing the rest in a compartment next to it.

Once that task was done, Irvine led the group to the cockpit and said, grinning, "Okay, now all we have to do is lure our target onto the ship and take off."

Seifer smirked, "I can't wait to see how you manage that."

"Watch and learn, O ye of little faith." Irvine said, turning to the comms.

Activating the commlink, Irvine radioed to Garden, "Ragnarok to Garden. Hey, Squall, something's goin on with the Ragnarok man, you'd better come check it out."

"So, that's it, huh? Easy as that?" Seifer said. Nida nodded, grinning, and Zell traded an amused glance with Watts.

Irvine nodded, "just wait." He leaned back against the control panel, affecting an innocent expression, and waited patiently. A few minutes ticked by, then the sound of booted feet pounding up the loading ramp sounded. Squall burst into the Ragnarok, looking both annoyed and wary. Seeing the assembled group, he stopped short, frowning.

"Irvine, what the hell is going on?" He asked.

"Squall, in honor of your upcoming nuptials, I and the rest of your assembled friends have taken it upon ourselves to send you off in grand style. So, welcome to your bachelor party." Irvine said, spreading his hands with a grin.

Squall glared at him, folding his arms across his chest and said, "I already told you I don't want…" he never finished the sentence. Irvine made a vague gesture, casting sleep, and Squall slumped, heading toward the floor. Zell, standing nearby, caught him before he fell and maneuvered him into a seat, strapping him in.

"Piece of cake. Okay guys, buckle up and let's get this party started!" Irvine said, sitting down in the pilot's seat, strapping in and powering up the engines.

"_That_ was awesome!" Seifer chuckled, exchanging a high-five with Raijin as they each chose a seat and buckled their restraints. Nida and Watts grinned at each other as they did the same. Zell simply rolled his eyes and shook his head.

They were in Trabia in just moments, and while the flight itself was smooth, the landing was a little rough. Irvine winced at the hard bump as the Ragnarok settled onto the plain next to the Resort, then began cycling down the engines and unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat.

He shrugged apologetically at the quiet curses and glares of the rest of the passengers, saying, "well, you gotta admit, it's not too bad for my first time flying this thing."

Nida stared at him, "you're kidding, right?" Seifer snorted and Zell sighed.

"Nope." Irvine replied, heading back toward the galley and bringing out some beers. Once he returned, he began handing them out.

"_Please_ tell me you're not going to try to fly after you've been drinking," Nida said, taking his.

"I'm not a _complete_ idiot," Irvine said. He had booked several rooms for the group, so they didn't have to go anywhere if they didn't want to.

"Are you sure?" Seifer said, smirking. Irvine shook his head, wondering again if it had been a good idea to invite him.

Setting aside his irritation at Seifer, Irvine handed the beers around, opened his and announced, "men, Squall's bachelor party has officially begun. Keep your arms and legs and various other parts inside the vehicle, remember your name and serial number, and don't forget: Whatever happens in Trabia, stays in Trabia. Cheers!" with that, he tapped his bottle against the other ones he'd handed out, and took a long draft.

Setting aside his beer, he said, "Alright then, let's wake up sleeping beauty."

Seifer snorted, "what are you gonna do, kiss him?"

"I thought I'd leave that to you, since you seem to have such a hard-on for him all the time." Irvine retorted. Nida, Zell, Watts and Raijin all laughed at Irvine's response, causing Seifer's face to redden.

"Fuck you Kinneas." Seifer growled. Irvine shook his head and rolled his eyes, approaching the seat where Squall was still slumped, sleeping.

He was just about ready to release the belts holding him when Zell stopped him, "uh, Irvine? I strongly suggest you wake him up _before_ you unbuckle him."

"Why?" Irvine asked, punching the quick release button. Zell winced and Seifer traded grins with Raijin and Nida. They knew what was coming.

"He's gonna be too groggy to…"Squall exploded out from the seat and hit Irvine square in the chest, sending him sprawling across the deck. Two lightning fast, hard punches had Irvine seeing stars before Zell caught up with them and grabbed Squall's arm, stopping him.

"Ow! Dammit Squall.." Irvine frowned up at Squall, who sat on his chest with Zell holding onto his arm. Irvine stared in shock as Squall blinked and shook his head, then scowled down at him. He'd attacked and nailed Irvine with two solid punches before he'd even come completely awake. Then Irvine mentally kicked himself. As highly trained and lethal as they all were, if any one of them had been rendered unconscious, as Squall had been, their reflexes would take over. It was simple survival; the body would fight even if the mind weren't quite awake yet. They had _all_ been trained to do just what Squall had done.

"If I'd known you were going to sleep-spell him, I would have warned you," Zell said.

Squall growled, "I _hate_ sleep spells. They give me headaches."

Feeling his sore jaw and blinking one painfully watering eye ruefully, Irvine looked up at Squall and said, "Okay, you've got your payback for the sleep spell. Do you mind getting off of me now?" Squall glared at Zell and shook his arm loose, then levered himself upright and took a step back, rubbing at his temples and glowering at Irvine.

Irvine climbed to his feet feeling bruised but not as damaged as he might have been if Squall had been fully awake and _serious_ about the attack.

Seifer, highly amused by all of this, smirked, "looks like we've got our first black eye."

"Fuck you Almasy." Irvine said, frowning. Seifer and Rajin both laughed.

Deciding to ignore them, Irvine said, "Sorry about that man, I didn't know. It seemed to be the best way to get you to cooperate. It was either that or konk you on the head, and we didn't want to _hurt_ you…"

"Even though I told him your head's harder than concrete," Seifer quipped. Zell sighed. Squall glared over at Seifer and silently flipped him off. Seifer laughed again. They hadn't even properly started and he was _already_ having fun. This was going to be a hell of a party.

"Where the hell are we, anyway?" Squall grumbled. Rinoa was going to be pissed that he'd missed dinner and inexplicably disappeared on her. Of course, she _could_ simply contact him mentally if she needed to. That thought brought up another concern that had Squall tightening his barriers. If this party got as wild as he suspected it would, he did _not_ want Rinoa privy to it. _At all_.

Irvine grinned, his good humor and excitement coming back, and answered, "Trabia. That new Casino and Resort that opened up awhile back. Trust me, we'll have a blast."

Patting him on the shoulder, Zell chimed in, "yeah, lighten up dude." When Squall turned his glare back onto Zell, he added, "look man, I know you said you didn't want a bachelor party but we wanted to celebrate with you, and after nearly buying it last week, you've gotta want to blow off some steam. Celebrate your life man, celebrate that you made it back in one piece and you're going to be able to go ahead and share it with a lovely girl."

"I already did my celebrating." Squall said, still frowning.

"With Rinoa, I get that. What guy wouldn't? But while sex is great," Irvine paused, then added with a smirk, "_really_ great; sometimes a guy's just gotta cut loose, and face it, you can't do that with a girl and keep her around for long."

Squall gazed at them both for a moment, realizing that they were right. It was scary sometimes how well both of these young men, whom he considered brothers both in arms and in affection, knew him.

Finally he sighed, "fine. I just want it known I'm doing this under protest."

"So noted Commander, sir." Nida said, looking serious for a moment before a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Agreed, sir," Watts chimed in, grinning as well.

"Excellent!" Irvine said, rubbing his hands together, then, pointing to Squall, he added, "somebody get this man a beer!" Watts volunteered and ran back to the galley, grabbing a bottle, opening it and handing it to Squall.

Tapping his bottle against Squall's, Irvine said, "let the debauchery begin!"

************************************************************************************************************************

They all entered the Resort in a group, with Squall looking around with interest. It was typical Shumi design, beautiful and unique, blending perfectly with the surrounding snow covered mountains. It was surprisingly busy for the remote location, but the ski lifts and runs that the largest of the mountains sported offered an explanation for this. Even in midsummer, Trabia's mountains were covered with snow, its extreme northern location making even summer cold compared to Balamb.

"Nice" Seifer commented. Nida and Watts agreed, and Irvine led the way to the concierge desk and checked them in.

"So… We're checking into the resort." Squall began, walking alongside Irvine as he led the way to their rooms.

"Yup." Irvine confirmed.

"And… This resort has a bar." Squall continued.

"It does." Irvine said.

"So, why did you stock enough alcohol on the Ragnarok to drown us all?" Squall asked.

"Just in case." Irvine answered, handing Squall a keycard and pointing toward a door. He frowned at the piece of plastic and looked up as Irvine handed the other guys their keys and disappeared into his own room across the hallway from Squall's.

"In case _what_? Irvine?" the door shut, the lock clicked, and Squall sighed, turning toward his own room. Swiping the keycard, he opened the door and studied the room. It was beautiful, with the organic, flowing design favored by the Shumis; rounded corners, gracefully curved walls, domed ceiling, and circular windows. Walking in slowly, he shut the door behind him and sat on the bed, wishing Rinoa were with him.

As nice as this place was, there was only one place he really wanted to be. Then he frowned, realizing that in "abducting" him, Irvine had essentially prevented Squall from packing _anything_ to bring with him. No clothes but what he was wearing. He didn't even have his toothbrush. He felt his back pocket and sighed in relief when he found his wallet there. Okay, at least he had his wallet and credit card. He'd taken it out earlier for some reason…he couldn't remember what, and wasn't sure he'd remembered to put it back.

He hadn't even gotten the chance to unpack from his trip to Esthar. His duffel with all of his clothes and essentials was still sitting in the middle of his office. He sighed in frustration.

"_Rin_?" he sent, knowing he'd need to give her _some_ reason why he wasn't going to be home for dinner.

"_Hey sweetie, work going okay?_lie to his wife-to-be.

"_Ah… as to that, I'm.. Uh, I'm not going to be able to make it home for dinner…something came up._" Squall sent vaguely, wincing inwardly at the half-truth. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon one's point of view, his position as commander often made it necessary for him to offer vague reasons why he couldn't be home at a specific time.

Rinoa was aware that he couldn't always tell her what he was doing, and so easily accepted what he'd told her with only a little disappointment coloring her response.

"_All right. Well, don't forget to eat dinner anyway. I love you._" She sent, letting him feel it from her.

"_I love you too Angel_." Squall sent her his love as well, feeling completely undeserving of her affection at the moment.

Then he got up and decided to investigate the room, finding the bathroom stocked with fluffy towels and basic toiletries, including a razor. He still needed a change of clothes however, and his only option at that point was to locate the onsite mall, and _buy_ them. He _hated_ shopping. The thought did occur to him that he could simply walk out of the resort, get back onto the Ragnarok and fly home, leaving Irvine and the rest of his cohorts to enjoy the place and figure out their _own_ way back; but it would have been a poor repayment for the obvious effort and thought that his friends had put into this.

And he _had_ wanted to do another guys' night out… so, what the hell. Could be fun.

************************************************************************************************************************

An hour later, Squall wandered aimlessly through a store, trying to decide if it was even worth it to try and find a change of clothes. How long were they even going to be there, anyway? Finding the basics, socks, under shorts and the like, was easy. The rest however, was proving to be difficult. It wasn't like he was all that picky about what he wore, but as he studied the seemingly endless ranks of shirts, sweaters, coats, and pants, he seriously considered admitting defeat and simply leaving.

_All I need is ONE shirt, ONE sweater, and ONE pair of pants. That's it._ But, which one?

"Can I help you?" a young woman's voice chirped nearby. Another thing Squall hated about shopping; intrusive, overly helpful salespeople.

"I don't know. _Can_ you?" Squall replied, thinking that maybe in this case, he actually _did_ need the help. Trouble was, he wasn't sure he _wanted_ it. Folding his arms across his chest, he waited.

The young lady for her part bit her lip and tried to ignore Squall's attitude as she said confidently, "I'm sure I can. What do you need?"

"Clothes." Squall answered.

"Right. What kind?" she asked, trying hard not to cringe at his cool regard. What was the guy's problem anyway? She was _trying_ to help him.

_What kind? Hell if I know. Well, it's Trabia, so…_

"Warm ones?" He hazarded.

The sales clerk smiled and asked him, "Are you here for the skiing?"

Squall shook his head, "no."

"Well, then you probably won't need the really, really warm stuff. So, you just hanging out at the resort then?" she asked.

"Yeah. Mostly." Squall answered. He watched in consternation as she pawed through the rack, looking back to give him a measuring glance before turning back to her search. Irvine caught up to Squall while she was busy looking through the garments.

"There you are. I thought for a minute that you'd decided to ditch us." Irvine said.

Squall snorted, "I was tempted to. It'd serve you right."

"What are you doing?" Irvine asked, smiling at the pretty sales clerk who'd turned back to them with an armful of garments.

"You _dragged_ me up here with nothing but what I'm standing in. I need a change of clothing." Squall answered, annoyed.

"Why? Planning on signing up for the oil wrestling later?" Irvine asked with a grin.

"_Oil wrestling_? No. I just…oh, never mind." Squall shook his head, exasperated. The clerk watched the two of them with a smile, amused by their interplay.

"Here," she said, and holding a knit shirt up against him, she nodded, "Yeah, this blue one really brings out your eyes. Try this one. And _this_," she pulled out a sweater in forest green, "this would look really good with that."

She piled on a couple more shirts and another sweater and Irvine had to bite his fist to keep from laughing out loud at the put-upon expression on Squall's face.

"And here, I had to guess at the size but I think these will work for you." She handed him a couple pairs of jeans.

"Go ahead and try those on." the girl smiled, pointing him toward the changing rooms. Squall sighed, and glared at Irvine's amused expression. Irvine waved good-bye to him and Squall growled under his breath as he stalked toward the changing rooms.

Chuckling, Irvine turned toward the clerk and tipped his hat, saying, "Darlin', that was classic. It's not every day I get to see Squall buried under a pile of clothes."

"Squall? Is that his name?" she asked, curious. It sounded familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Yeah. Mine's Irvine, by the way." He said, offering his hand. She shook it with a smile.

"Is there anything I can do for you Irvine?" she asked, studying him. He was easily as cute as his friend, in spite of what looked like a bruise on his jaw and the beginnings of a black eye, and he was a good deal friendlier.

He grinned widely, blue eyes sparkling, "sure darlin'. What time do you get off work?"


	11. And Infamous

They all, with the exception of Irvine, gathered in the resort bar later that evening for dinner and an animated discussion of their activities for the remainder of the night.

"Cards." Squall said, sipping his beer and reaching for a fry.

Seifer snorted, taking a long pull from his beer, "Weak. We need to do something more exciting than that."

"Oil wrestling starts in an hour. I'm tempted to sign up for it," Zell said, biting into his deluxe hot dog and sighing happily. The thing was a foot long and piled high with just about every condiment that had ever been used on a hot dog. It came accompanied by Seifer's inevitable wisecracks about Zell's love of large wieners. It had nearly resulted in a brawl between the two before Squall and Raijin had managed to calm things down.

"Should have thought about that before ordering _that_ monstrosity," Squall said, indicating the mess that Zell was consuming.

"Hey!" Zell protested through a mouthful. Watts and Nida laughed, and Seifer and Raijin both smirked at his reaction.

"I'd be up for the oil wrestling, why not? Eh sir?" Watts said, addressing Squall.

"Up to you guys. Knock yourselves out." Squall said, continuing to eat his dinner. It was just a basic burger and fries, but tasty for all of that. Bar food at it's finest. The bar itself was situated between the resort and the casino, and opened out onto each one. It was a popular way station between the two. Its décor was pretty standard for a bar, dim lighting, neon beer signs and liquor advertisements, scattered tables, red leather-ish booths lining the walls…. And a cleared space containing what looked like a scaled down, inverted wrestling ring complete with ropes around the perimeter.

"Hey guys!" Irvine said, grinning smugly, each arm around an attractive girl, one blond, and the other brunette. Squall rolled his eyes as he recognized the shopgirl from earlier.

"Girls, meet my friends," Irvine began, indicating Squall and the rest.

"You've met Squall," the shopgirl nodded, and the other girl frowned, recognition suddenly widening her eyes.

"Well, this is Seifer, next to him is Raijin, the guy with the tattoos and the chocobo hair is Zell that dark-haired guy over there is Nida, and sitting next to him is Watts." Indicating the blond shopgirl, Irvine continued, "guys, this is Charie, and the brunette over here is Alyise." There was a general shift as they all made room for Irvine and his two companions.

The brunette girl ended up sitting next to Squall and she studied him for a moment before asking, "Are you Squall _Leonhart_?"

Squall sighed inwardly, thinking, _here we go…_

"Yes," He answered, sipping at his beer. He did _not_ want to get drunk, so was nursing his drink as much as possible. Yeah, it was a party, but Squall knew his limits, and was doing his best to pace himself.

"_The_ Squall Leonhart? For _real_?" the girl squeaked, eyes wide.

_No, I'm an optical illusion, a figment of your overheated imagination,_ Squall thought sarcastically. He glared at Irvine who laughed at his expression, then turned to order some drinks and food from the hovering waitress.

"Last time I checked." Squall confirmed. The blond girl, Charie, looked over at him at hearing his full name, and recognition dawned on her face as well.

"Wow! I remember now, you did that Lunar Base thing last week in Esthar! That was all over the news here!" She sighed, eyes sparkling, "Wow.. I can't believe you're _here_… By the way, I was right, that shirt _does_ bring out your eyes."

_Whatever_, Squall thought, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his beer. He'd worn the shirt because it was _clean_. No other reason. Well, that and he _did_like blue…

"Yeah," The brunette, Alyise echoed her friend's sigh, saying "that _kiss_, when you landed? SO romantic…I just _melted_. Was that your girlfriend?"

"Fiancée." Squall answered tersely. This was getting tiresome, and Squall began thinking of an exit strategy. He finished the final few bites of his dinner and considered his options.

"She's _sooo_ lucky! When are you getting married?" Charie asked.

"Soon." Squall said. _The sooner the better_, he thought.

Tossing some gil on the table to cover his dinner and tip, Squall stood up, saying, "I'm going to check out the casino and maybe get into a card game. Anyone wants to find me, look for a hold 'em game."

Irvine perked up at this, "hold 'em? I'm in!" Then the food he'd ordered for himself and his dates arrived and he added, "_After_ we eat. We'll catch up to you later buddy."

"Whatever," Squall snorted; stalking off He sincerely hoped that Irvine left his dates behind if he decided to play cards. Seifer got up as he passed by the table and fell into step beside him.

"I thought you said cards were weak." Squall commented as the entered the casino from the bar. The noise, flashing lights and garish colors were a stark contrast to the serene beauty of the rest of the resort. Squall wondered who'd talked the shumi's into building the thing. Then again, the tribe had an elder who, while he held fast to the old ways, was shrewd enough to know a good investment when he saw one.

Seifer shrugged, "better than watching those girls melt all over you."

Squall made a face at the visual that gave him and Seifer chuckled, "maybe there's a triad game going. I could get into that."

Squall shrugged, "maybe, but I'm looking for poker." He headed toward a cashier and purchased some chips. After considering for a moment, Seifer did the same.

"Looks like they're dealing a game over there," Seifer pointed toward a table.

They headed over and Squall asked, "you in?"

Seifer nodded, "sure. It'll be fun to see how much of your money I can take."

Squall snorted at that and said, "I won't be the only player there you know."

Seifer shrugged, "I know."

When they reached the table, Squall asked if they had room for two more and when the dealer nodded, said, "deal us in."

"Twenty gil buy- in" the dealer said. Seifer and Squall both put in their chips.

Taking his seat, Squall put his beer on the table after taking a small sip. It was getting warm and less palatable, but Squall continued to nurse it.

The cards were dealt, and the game began. They played several hands, with Squall winning a few, then Seifer winning some. Engrossed in the game, Squall lost track of time but a commotion from the direction of the bar told him that the oil wrestling had begun.

Glancing up from his cards, he commented to Seifer, "Oil wrestling's started. Did you want to check it out?"

"What, watch chicken-wuss get his ass kicked by a couple of oiled up amazons? Nah, I'll pass." Seifer said studying his cards.

"Really?" Squall asked.

Seifer shrugged, waiting for his turn in the action, "I need to win more gil off you."

Squall snorted, sipping at his beer again. The commotion got louder, and Squall saw a flesh colored streak race through the casino out of the corner of his eye.

"Was that Zell?" he asked.

Without looking up from his cards, Seifer answered, "Looked like it."

"Was he naked?" Squall asked. Seifer nodded wordlessly. Two more streaks followed him, both appearing to be topless, and female. Of course, as muscular as these particular ladies appeared to be, their actual gender couldn't be assumed from a simple glance.

Squall focused back onto his cards. A Half-dozen of the hotel's security guards followed the streaks a few moments later.

"Looks like he got a new tattoo." Squall commented, drinking down the last of his beer and placing a bet.

"Yup." Seifer said. The hand finished a moment later and Squall won, much to Seifer's disgust. A loud ruckus near the lobby of the resort caused both Seifer and Squall to look in that direction, then meet each other's eyes.

"We should check that out." Seifer said.

Squall nodded, "Yeah, I think you're right." Gathering up their chips, they excused themselves from the table and walked toward the noise.

As they did, Nida and Raijin caught up with them, followed by a shirtless, oil-smeared and grinning Watts, who held what appeared to be the bikini tops that the two women had worn.

"_That_ was awesome!" Watts crowed, brandishing the garments like they were trophies, adding, "we won!"

"What did you win? A naked wrestling match in the lobby with the security guards?" Seifer quipped. Squall shook his head as they continued toward the melee. Where was Irvine in all of this? Squall wondered.

Watts laughed, as they drew closer to the action, "No, Zell…" He never finished what he was about to say. A flying body struck him full in the chest and knocked him flat.

"OOF! Hey! Oh, hi ma'am," Watts said, grinning up at the blonde Amazon that had been hurled into him. "You want your top back?" He held it up to her.

Squall meanwhile, considered the situation. Zell appeared to be holding his own, despite his current handicap; that being his unclothed state. He glanced over at Nida and Raijin, who both shrugged, grinning. Seifer had disappeared briefly, and when he returned, he held two full shot glasses.

"Here," he said, handing one to Squall. Squall frowned at it, remembering the _last_ time someone had handed him a shot glass full of an unknown liquid.

"You want to get in on this?" Seifer asked, still holding his and nodding at the ongoing chaos.

Squall shrugged, "it doesn't look like he needs any help."

Seifer glanced over at Squall and told him, "Well, don't waste that, it's single malt."

"Oh. Cheers then." Squall said and tossed it back. Seifer nodded and followed suit. The warmth traveled down to his stomach and out to his lower extremities. It had the odd effect of _melting_ any tension that existed in his body. A very nice feeling, all things considered.

"Nice. Better than Marlboro juice at any rate." Squall said.

"Ugh! When did you drink _that_ poison?" Seifer asked, making a face.

"Zell's birthday, last year. Never again." Squall said. Then he winced as one of the security guards managed to land a blow far too close to Zell's exposed…. _vulnerabilities_.

"We need to get his shorts to him." Squall commented.

"Yeah, I'm tired of staring at his naked ass too." Seifer said, and then turned to Raijin, asking, "Do you know what happened to his clothes?" Raijin nodded.

"Go get 'em." Seifer said.

Raijin shrugged, saying "okay." And left. He returned a short while later with a bundle of clothes.

Taking the shorts from him, Seifer called out, "Hey, chicken-wuss! Do us all a favor and cover up your junk!" bundling them up into a wad, he tossed them at Zell.

Zell, ducking a punch from one guard and laying another out with a solid punch of his own, glared at Seifer and deftly caught the flying clothing, putting it on with impressive speed. The distraction however cost him a punch to the midsection that knocked him down.

Thus far, Zell had been holding his own quite impressively against the six guards and one of the (still topless) female wrestlers. The other one was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Watts, for that matter. Three of the guards were laid out flat, but the remaining three were seriously pissed by now. And the lady wrestler…well she was just mad she couldn't land a blow on Zell because he kept avoiding her, not wanting to hit her at all.

When Zell went down however, the three guards and the lady wrestler all jumped on him. Squall sighed, and glanced over at Seifer. It was too much. It had to stop before management called the local police.

"We need to put a stop to this," Squall said.

Seifer nodded, "Okay. I'll go left."

"I'll take right then." Squall said, and they waded into the fray. Two well-placed punches ended it quickly.

"What took you assholes so long? I was up against _six_ guys!" Zell demanded, panting and wiping blood off his chin as he climbed slowly to his feet.

"Looked like you had it handled to me," Seifer shrugged. Squall nodded, gazing around and finding surprisingly little damage to the surroundings for as violent as the fracas had appeared to be. It helped that it had taken place in a relatively open area with few breakables lying about. He wondered how long it would take for the management to request their departure.

Sighing, Squall began quietly casting cure spells on all the security guards who were currently laying sprawled on the floor, some unconscious, some groaning.

Looking around, Squall frowned, "where the hell is Irvine? And Watts?"

"Irvine left with those two girls after they ate and I haven't seen him since. If I had to guess, I'd say he's in his room with 'em. I have no idea where Watts is." Zell answered, looking around for his shirt.

Suddenly, the remaining lady wrestler, a six-foot tall, impressively muscled, statuesque redhead tackled Zell from behind, knocking him flat. Apparently, she'd found his shirt and had put it on, covering her _other_ very impressive attributes.

"Okay shorty, you're coming with _me_," she said, pulling a stunned Zell to his feet.

"Wh..What?" He said, looking worried. He dug in his heels and refused to follow her despite the death grip she had on his hand. Making a frustrated sound, she turned around, picked him up and threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Uh.. h-help?" Zell stammered as the woman carried him off. Nida and Raijin were laughing like idiots at the tableau, and Seifer and Squall exchanged a glance and simply shrugged at Zell's plea.

"What do you want us to do?" Squall asked, puzzled.

"Something! Anything! Just …" then he stopped as the woman paused and whispered something to him. His face broke into a wide grin.

"Never mind guys! See ya later!" he waved, still grinning as they entered the elevator that led to the next floor and their rooms.

"Huh. You don't see _that_ every day." Seifer commented, staring after them.

Squall shook his head, "nope."

Nida, still laughing, added, "She obviously saw something she liked."

"Can't have been his new tattoo," Seifer said with a smirk, asking, "who tattoos a chocobo on their ass?"

Squall shook his head again, saying firmly, "not _me_." Then he noticed the security guards starting to wake up. He decided a strategic exit before they did might be a good idea. Catching Seifer's eye, then Nida and Raijin, he jerked his head back toward the casino.

"Let's get some playing time in before they kick us out." Squall said. Seifer, Raijin and Nida nodded. They all detoured to the bar for more beers each. This time, Seifer headed off to a triple triad table, and Squall found a hold 'em game guaranteed to keep him occupied for good long while. Raijin and Nida wandered off to find their own amusements.

Squall was feeling pleasantly mellow, but nowhere near drunk, and congratulated himself at keeping his head throughout the preceding insanity. Now, if he could just keep things under control for the rest of the night…

Alas, it was not to be. Squall was about an hour into a really challenging hand of hold 'em that he felt he had a good chance of winning when he felt someone's presence standing nearby.

Without looking up, he said coolly, "I'll be with you in a moment." He was mildly surprised when they waited patiently for him to finish his hand. Which he won. He'd been up and down but had hit a bit of a streak so had finished up the night on a good win. _Always nice to bow out on top_, Squall thought philosophically.

Gathering up his chips, he stood and faced what he assumed to be the manager and two of the security guards that had gotten embroiled in the fracas from earlier.

"Can I help you?" he asked, even though it didn't take a genius to guess what they were there for. The man nodded and walked away from the table and anyone else in immediate earshot, expecting him to follow. Squall appreciated the man's discretion as he acceded to the unspoken request.

The man cleared his throat and in a respectfully businesslike manner, said, "Yes. I understand you were part of a group of young men who checked in here earlier?"

Squall nodded, "yes."

"There was an altercation involving public nudity and assault upon my security personnel. I'm sorry, but that type of behavior is not encouraged here, even for such high-spirited young men as yourselves, SeeDs, if I don't mistake the look of you." The man said formally.

Squall nodded again, acknowledging the man's observation but remaining silent, waiting for the rest of it.

"We get your type here on occasion, visiting from Trabia Garden. We do our best to keep problems to a minimum, so those who get a little carried away are requested to leave." The manager said.

"Of course. We will cover the damages, whatever they are. Any injuries to your personnel have already been dealt with." Squall said. The manager frowned and looked at the two security guards who shrugged and nodded.

"Ah, well then. When can we expect your departure?" the man said, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Well, we've all sort of scattered, so you'll need to give me time to track everyone down. Give me about an hour or so." Squall answered.

The manager nodded, "Very good. And you are…?"

"Squall Leonhart. Commander of Balamb Garden. Contact me and the damages _will_ be paid for." Squall answered. He stalked off toward the cashier, leaving the manager and the two security guards staring after him.

After cashing his chips in, he located Seifer, Raijin and Nida fairly easily and informed them of their imminent departure. Then, as he had no idea where Watts, Zell, or Irvine had ended up (though he could _guess_…), he enlisted their aid in finding them.

"I'll check Irvine's room first. You guys do the same, check Zell's and Watts' rooms first, then if they aren't there, find out where those women are staying. We've got an hour to clear out." Squall ordered, back into command mode. Nida, Raijin and Seifer rolled their eyes at this, realizing that he'd slipped into the role automatically.

"Where do we go from here then?" Nida asked, curious.

"Back to Balamb." Squall said firmly. They all nodded and split up.

************************************************************************************************************************

Moments later, Squall was knocking at the door to Irvine's room and hearing muffled laughter, _female_ laughter, coming from the other side.

_Figures_, Squall thought wearily. Then frowned as he heard a _WARK_ also coming from the other side of the door.

_Was that a chocobo?_ Squall wondered. Maybe he was hearing things.

Squall raised his hand to knock again when Irvine opened it just enough to peek out and give Squall a good idea of what he'd been doing for the last few hours or so.

"Hey buddy! What's up?" Irvine asked, grinning.

"We need to leave. The management is kicking us out." Squall said without preamble.

_WARK!_

There it was again. And it was _definitely_ a chocobo.

Irvine suddenly coughed, trying to cover the sound, and said, "Uh, right. I didn't think we were _that_ loud..."

_WARK!_

Finally it was too much and Squall asked, "Irvine, is there a chocobo in your room?"

"Uhhh…" Irvine began.

Squall waved his hand and said, "Never mind. I don't want to know. Just get dressed and get it out of there. NOW."

"Right." Irvine said, closing the door.

Resisting the urge to start pulling his hair out by the roots, Squall entered his room and packed up his meager belongings into the shopping bags that he'd brought his purchases back in. A knock on the door made Squall seriously consider emptying the entire contents of the mini bar before opening the door. When he did, he wished that he had done just that.

"Um, could you lend a hand?" Irvine asked, indicating the feathered occupant of his room.

************************************************************************************************************************

_I am going to kill him. Soon._ Squall thought as he spent the next eternity attempting to herd a big, yellow bird out of a place it had no business in, all without being seen by anyone.

"_How_ did you get this goddam thing in here in the first place?" Squall demanded as he once again fended the bird off from heading down the hall toward the lobby.

"Freight elevator. It was easy, but about halfway through she started to panic, and now she doesn't want to go back in there, do ya girl?" Irvine said soothingly.

"Can't you sleep spell her?" Squall asked.

Irvine shook his head, "you know how much these things weigh? You and I both together couldn't shift her. No, she's got to go under her own power."

"Well then, fucking _blind_ her!" Squall snapped and quickly cast a blind spell.

The bird immediately stopped, cocking its head and warbling nervously. Irvine soothed it and it butted its head against him, seeking comfort.

"Huh, didn't think of that. Okay, girl, it's okay, we'll get you out of this scary place.." Irvine said, patting it gently. Looping his belt around its neck, he led it toward the freight elevator, Squall bringing up the rear to help push it along.

"I didn't know you were junctioned," Irvine called back as they walked down the hallway.

"Habit," Squall answered tersely. Irvine snorted. Squall in a mood was not something he wanted to deal with. Obviously, this party wasn't turning out exactly as planned…

They got the chocobo into the freight elevator without further incident and managed from there to get it outdoors with no one the wiser. Unfortunately, Squall was only wearing the thin knit shirt, deeming the sweater too heavy for simply wandering about the casino. And he had _thought_, once the bird was outdoors and _free_, it would simply go it's merry way without further involvement from its erstwhile captors.

But, once they got it outside and Squall cast Esuna to remove the blind spell, the bird simply cocked its head and warbled again, this time sounding puzzled.

Stepping out into the frigid night in just his knit shirt had Squall shivering in moments.

"Irvine? Why isn't it simply going back to its forest?" Squall asked, staring at the big, yellow bird.

"Dunno. Maybe she likes me." Irvine answered.

The bird said. LOUDLY.

"GO! You're free! Get moving!" Irvine said, waving at the bird. The chocobo trotted off a few steps, then came back, butting its head into Irvine's chest. Squall groaned.

"We're going to have to escort it all the way back to its forest, aren't we?" Squall asked, sourly. Then he shivered violently.

"Maybe she doesn't know her way back from here?" Irvine suggested.

Without warning, Squall leaped at the bird, waving his arms and yelling, "GO! MOVE YOU BIG YELLOW IDIOT!"

Both Irvine and the chocobo jumped, the bird letting out a startled squawk and fluttering its stubby wings as it ran off for a few yards, then looped around to hide behind Irvine, shivering in fear.

"Hey!" Irvine frowned, patting the bird comfortingly, "you didn't need to do _that_! And she's not an idiot, are you girl?"

Squall ground his by now chattering teeth, getting angrier by the minute, and growled, "Irv-v-vine…I am f-f-f freezing my ass off out here. As you can s-s-s-see, I'm n-n-not dressed for this climate. Now, you get this bird back where it belongs or so help me I will make you wish you'd never come here!"

"All right, fine!" Irvine flung his hands up in surrender. Then he hopped up onto the chocobo's back.

"W-w-w-what the hell are you doing?" Squall managed. He really needed to either get indoors and get a sweater or just get someplace warm… _soon_. It was midsummer in Balamb, and he'd just come from Esthar, which was hotter than hell in comparison to what he was experiencing at the moment, and the abrupt change from hot to cold in just a few hours time was jarring. The shock to his system couldn't possibly be good for him, Squall was certain.

"I'm going to ride her to her forest and let her go there." Irvine said.

"B-by yours-s-self." Squall stated, arms folded tightly across his chest, shivering.

"Yes." Irvine answered.

"W-what are you gonna do after it t-takes off, w-walk b-back?" Squall asked, glaring at him. He couldn't possibly be that stupid.

"Yep." Irvine answered, giving him a level look. Apparently, he could.

"A-are you armed?" Squall asked. Irvine shook his head wordlessly. Squall sighed.

"T-then I'm coming with you." Squall said.

"Are you nuts? You don't even have a coat on!" Irvine exclaimed.

"If you can give me f-five minutes, I'll run back to my room and get the sweaters I bought earlier. T-they'll help." Squall said.

"It won't be enough, Squall." Irvine said, worried.

"B-better than nothing. Y-you won't make it back alone and unarmed in the m-middle of the f-fucking night. Y-you'll be snowlion shit by morning." Squall stated.

"_Nice_, Squall. Nice visual there. Okay, hurry then." Irvine said. Squall nodded and raced back to his room.

Once there, he piled on all of the shirts and sweaters he'd bought, hoping it would be enough to keep him from freezing to death. He was just about going to leave when he paused, staring thoughtfully at the mini-bar. Okay, alcohol wouldn't really keep him warm, but it would help… hopefully it would help long enough for them to get rid of that damned bird and get back. So thinking, he grabbed several of the small bottles of spirits and stuffed them into his pockets, not really paying attention to the type.

Then he raced back to where Irvine waited patiently on the chocobo, and vaulted up onto its back behind him and dug in his heels, startling the bird into a run. Squall lurched backward and nearly fell, saving himself by instinctively flinging his arms around Irvine.

"Squall, buddy, I didn't know you cared!" Irvine laughed.

"Shut up Irvine." Squall said. He let go as soon as he regained his balance and glared at Irvine's back.

"We'd better not let Rinoa in on our secret, she might not understand," Irvine continued, enjoying the chance to tease Squall far more than he should.

"Shut. Up."

Irvine simply laughed.

Then a thought struck him, and he asked, "what are you junctioned with, anyway? If it's Shiva, we're both fucked."

"It's Shiva." Squall answered.

"Fuck. Really useful here in the frozen north Squall." Irvine said sarcastically.

"_And_ Bahamut." Squall added.

Irvine sighed in relief, "well, that'll help against the snowlions anyway."

They made it to the chocobo forest in just a few moments, and when the bird saw her sanctuary, she whistled happily and trotted right in without a backward glance.

"I see how you are," Irvine called after her jokingly, adding, "Call me?" Squall rolled his eyes at this and they started back.

The forest didn't appear to be too far from the resort, fortunately, and the moon was shining brightly so visibility wasn't much of a problem. Squall was tempted to increase his pace to a jog, but the moonlight, while bright, wasn't bright _enough_ and the snow-covered terrain made the footing a bit too chancy for that. He settled for a brisk walk instead, hoping that the physical exertion would help to keep him warm enough to stave off hypothermia.

Clearing his throat, Irvine started, "I guess you're wondering about the chocobo…"

"Irvine, I truly _do not_ want to know." Squall said.

"It's not what you think…" Irvine defended.

"Whatever." Squall said.

"Look. The girls wanted to go on a moonlight chocobo ride, and so we went out and caught her. We all got cold after a little while and headed back, and darned if the chocobo followed us all the way to the resort. The girls thought it was cute and when the bird followed us into the elevator as well..." Irvine shrugged. Squall snorted.

"Okay, I'll buy that. Doesn't explain why you were _naked_ with a chocobo inside your room." Squall said.

"Now _that_," Irvine said smugly, "_that_ had nothing to do with the bird."

"Right." Squall said.

"No, really. The girls and me were in the bedroom and the chocobo was in the other room, just hanging out. I'm not _that_ depraved, jeez. Besides, that's animal abuse." Irvine said, looking disgusted.

"You. And _both_ girls." Squall said.

Irvine chuckled, "That's right buddy." Squall stared at him, wondering how he could possibly manage _two_ girls when _one_ was more than enough for _him_. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask, when he decided against it. He really didn't want to know the details. Did he?

Irvine chuckled, and said simply, "in case you're wondering, it takes choreography, energy, and it's a hell of a lot of fun."

"I didn't ask." Squall said.

"I know. But you were _wondering_." Irvine said with a wink. Squall remained silent. Irvine frowned as a realization dawned on him about his friend.

"You've never been with anyone but Rinoa, have you?" He asked. It made sense. From what he'd heard and observed about Squall, forming even a casual relationship with him had been next to impossible. The fact that no one had seen him even showing a passing interest in _anyone_ of either gender had left speculation on his preferences wide open. Which of course had served to drive Squall farther away from even _attempting_ to date.

And then Rinoa came along with her blithe disregard of his attempts to keep her at arm's length the way he had with everyone else. Eventually, her persistence paid off, and Irvine couldn't be happier for the both of them.

Finally Squall answered quietly, "No, I haven't."

"And now you're marrying her." Irvine said.

"Yes." Squall said firmly.

"Are you _sure_…?" Irvine asked.

"Yes. You may not believe me Irvine, but I don't need to sleep with a dozen women to know that no one else can do for me what Rinoa does. _No one_." Squall answered.

"That good is it?" Irvine asked, and Squall shot him a dirty look.

"Is it _always_ about sex with you?" he demanded.

"Of course not, but I hope that _you're_ not tying your future to a great lay." Irvine said. Too late, he realized his mistake as Squall whirled without warning and slammed his fist into his jaw, knocking him down. Irvine lay in the snow for a heartbeat, stunned, but when he saw Squall coming at him again, he quickly rolled to avoid his next attack and leaped to his feet.

"Squall, look man…"Irvine said, trying to reason with him. Unfortunately, Squall was too angry at the moment to be reasoned with. The only thing he wanted to do right then was beat the holy hell out of Irvine.

Irvine ducked his next swing, and blocked the one after that, but Squall, despite being seriously pissed off, was not attacking blindly. Two more hard punches to the middle left Irvine gasping, though he managed to avoid Squall's next attack. But not the one that followed. Narrowing his eyes, Squall charged, catching Irvine despite his attempt to avoid him and slamming into him bodily, knocking them both back into the snow. Another hard punch had Irvine tasting blood and he flung his arms up in an attempt to block Squall's next punch.

"Okay! Okay! Stop! Stop, I'm sorry!" Irvine said, panting. He really needed to train with Zell more, he reflected, since he'd been worse than pathetic in defending himself against his enraged friend. Of course, deep down, he realized that he'd brought it on himself with his insensitive comment.

Squall stopped, panting, sitting on Irvine's chest again, this time with one hand at his throat and his fist poised for another punch.

"For your information," Squall said quietly, eyes blazing, "It's not _just_ sex with us. It's more than that. I can't explain it, and I _won't_ explain it. I shouldn't have to. I love her. That's all you or anyone else needs to know."

"That's all that matters. I'm sorry Squall. I shouldn't have said that. Anyone with two eyes and a brain can see you two absolutely adore each other." Irvine said. Squall nodded and got up, releasing Irvine.

Grunting painfully, Irvine sat up, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, saying, "Fuck, you hit _hard_." Squall reached his hand down and helped him to his feet.

"You pissed me off." Squall said, turning to continue walking toward the resort. It didn't seem that far when they'd ridden out on the chocobo, but then, chocobos were fast and it had obviously covered far more ground than they had thought. Fortunately, no snowlions appeared to be hunting in their vicinity, so they simply had to trek back. In the freezing cold… at God only knew what time it currently was.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Again." Irvine said. He wondered how he could get the party back on track and more importantly, get Squall to have some fun for a change. Thus far, it didn't appear that _that_ particular plan of Irvine's was working. Squall wasn't even drunk. Of course, neither was Irvine at the moment, but he'd been too busy having fun in other ways to get seriously inebriated.

They walked along in silence; Squall feeling the warmth from his anger and exertion leaching away by the second. Within moments, he was shivering violently again. Fishing into his pocket, he pulled out one of the small bottles and handed it to Irvine, taking another one out for himself.

Taking it, Irvine asked, "What's this?"

"I don't know, I just grabbed it from the mini bar. I figured it'd help with the cold. For a little while anyway." Squall said.

"Well, if nothing else, you'll feel better as you slowly freeze to death." Irvine commented. He opened the small bottle and took a drink. It burned pleasantly down to his toes.

Squall snorted, "yeah, well, silly me, I forgot to bring my thermos of _hot soup_."

Irvine sighed, "Well, if we just keep walking we should be okay."

"You'll be fine. _You're_ wearing a fucking coat." Squall said sourly, not bothering to point out the obvious fact that he _wasn't_.

"We're not that far." Irvine said. Squall nodded and took a drink from the small bottle he held. Warm fire trailed down his throat and into his stomach. Intellectually, Squall knew it was illusory, but what the hell. It'd keep him going for a little while.

Fortunately, they did in fact manage to reach the resort before things got too dangerous, but for Squall at least, it was a near thing. Irvine watched him carefully as they drew closer and worried more and more as Squall's shivers became constant and he started stumbling. At that point however, Irvine wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from what Squall had been drinking.

"What's in that bottle anyway?" Irvine asked as the finally made it indoors and Squall sighed in relief. He felt cold down to his bones at that point and didn't know if he'd ever warm up.

Squall studied it and answered, "single malt something or other..." he didn't know if the fuzziness in his head was from the booze or the cold, but either way, he knew he needed to hold it together awhile longer. They still needed to round up the rest of the gang and get out of there.

"Whiskey?" Irvine asked.

"Apparently." Squall answered. He downed the last of it, there wasn't much in the tiny bottles anyway, and tossed it in a nearby garbage can. As they walked through the hotel, Squall gradually began to feel less chilled. He was still wracked by occasional tremors however. His mind started to clear a little bit too, but a slight, lingering fuzziness remained that Squall attributed to the whiskey he'd imbibed. Stopping by their rooms, they grabbed their belongings and checked the other rooms to see if the other guys were in them. They weren't, so they headed for the lobby.

Irvine sighed, "You know, I wanted you to have fun tonight and it looks like it was a total bust, at least for you. Sorry. I also wanted to get you totally wasted and apparently, you hold your liquor better than I thought you would."

Squall snorted, "that's only because number one: I hate being drunk, I don't like that out of control feeling, and two: I know when to stop."

"Just out of curiosity, how much _have_ you had to drink tonight?" Irvine asked.

Squall frowned, thinking, finally he answered, "Two beers and one shot of single malt whiskey. Plus that little bottle from the mini-bar. Which I think is about equal to two shots. Maybe a bit less."

"For the _whole night_?" Irvine asked, incredulous. They'd been there for several hours. No wonder Squall seemed barely affected. Squall shrugged.

"Why?" Irvine asked.

"_Somebody's_ gotta keep their head on straight. Might as well be me." Squall said.

"But that's not very fair to you," Irvine began. Squall waved it away.

"Well, to be honest, I _am_ feeling a little bit buzzed right now." Squall admitted, then added, "but really, the only thing drinking does to me is make me sleepy. Or…" he hesitated, and continued, "stupid."

"You. Stupid drunk." Irvine said. Squall nodded.

"Oh! Right, Zell's birthday party! I remember hearing about that! I mean, I was _there_, but I don't remember seeing you acting any differently than you normally do. Was that the only time you got seriously messed up?" Irvine asked. Squall nodded. Further discussion of the subject was curtailed as they made it to the lobby and found the rest of their group waiting for them.

"What took you guys so long?" Zell asked, looking annoyed. He'd been happily involved with Sonia, the redhead from earlier, and was _not_ happy to have been pulled away from her before he'd properly started a _second_ go-round. Fortunately, he'd managed to get her phone number.

Seifer smirked and looked like he was going to say something but remained silent when Squall shot him a warning glare.

Squall and Irvine exchanged a look and Irvine answered, "We'll explain later. Let's get going before the manager decides to call the police after all." Squall nodded. Thus far the management had been politely understanding of their "high spirits", but their patience extended only as long as it took for them to _leave_.

They all nodded and trooped back out to the Ragnarok. Squall entered first, sighing. At the moment, he wanted only two things: something, _anything_, hot to drink and a hot, hot, _hot_, shower, in that order. Maybe then he'd _finally_ feel warm again. Afterward, maybe he'd drain the contents of the _other_ small bottles in his pockets and hopefully pass out for the night.

He made a beeline for the galley and began looking for anything that he could heat up and get inside of him as quickly as possible. Finally he located some coffee and brewed up a strong pot. Pouring himself a cup, he paused, considering for a moment, then shrugged and dug out one of the remaining little bottles in his pocket and dumped the contents into his coffee.

Taking a sip, he sighed as the delicious warmth finally started thawing his frozen core. Thawing, hell, he felt as though he was _melting_. Draining his cup, he walked back toward the cockpit, yawning.

"I'm going to take a hot shower and pass out. When I wake up, I want to be back in Balamb." Squall ordered Irvine, then turned around and stalked out.

************************************************************************************************************************

Zell stared after Squall for a moment, then asked, studying Irvine's battered face, "What the hell happened to you? Did you two get into another fight or something?"

Irvine shrugged as he strapped himself into the pilot's seat, answering, "Something like that."

"Looks like he beat the hell out of you," Zell observed.

"Damn near." Then Irvine sighed, "I actually deserved it though. I said something I shouldn't have."

"So, we're done for the night then?" Zell asked.

Irvine snorted, "Are you kidding? Not even close." Frowning in concentration, he typed in the codes to direct them to FH.

"Gentlemen," Irvine intoned, "we have one last stop on this adventure. We're going to Fisherman's Horizon." The engines powered up and the ship began to lift off.

"_What_? Are you _insane_?" Zell exclaimed. Seifer burst out laughing and Watts, Nida and Raijin joined him.

"I can't _wait_ to see how badly he fucks you up when he wakes up in FH!" Seifer said, still laughing.

"Are you guys done with the party yet?" Irvine turned around and asked the group as a whole.

"No, not really, although I've had a great time so far, ya know?" Raijin said, grinning.

"Yeah, and I got that blond wrestler's phone number." Watts said with a smile.

"Me too, with her partner." Zell admitted.

"I've gotta admit, this has been hugely entertaining so far," Seifer supplied, still chuckling.

"What about you Nida?" Irvine asked, "You've been pretty quiet so far, find anyone nice to hook up with?"

"No, not really," he answered mildly, adding, "but then, I've got someone specific in mind that I'm interested in. It's been a blast so far though."

"Yeah? Who?" Irvine asked, interested. Nida hesitated.

"Never mind, she doesn't know I exist anyway. It… it's just a crush I've had for awhile." Nida shrugged awkwardly. Irvine sighed.

"Dude. Stop crushin' on this girl and make a move! You won't know if she's interested in you if you don't just suck it up and _ask her out_." Irvine said.

Nida sighed, "I don't know, maybe someday I will…when it feels right. I don't want to rush things though."

"Okay, well, good luck with that." Irvine said with a shrug, and then added with a grin, looking at the rest of the group, "Well guys, our last stop on this odyssey is a notorious little cabaret that I stumbled onto while meandering around FH once. Be prepared however. This place can get a little rough."

************************************************************************************************************************

Coming out of his shower feeling much better, Squall drained the last bottle he had in his pants pocket. Pulling on a pair of under shorts, he fell into bed as the feeling in his head progressed from simply fuzzy to full-on, head-spinning drunkenness. In moments, he was out like a light.

************************************************************************************************************************

In engaging the autopilot to direct them to FH, Irvine had given over control to the flight computer, which as part of its programming, plotted the most direct course to its destination. Because of that, and the fact that the airship flew at supersonic speeds high in the atmosphere, they reached FH in far less time than Irvine had thought they would. It was still night, though Irvine knew that dawn wasn't far off.

Frowning in concentration, Irvine carefully landed the Ragnarok with barely a bump, congratulating himself for that minor milestone. Cycling down the engines, Irvine released his restraints and headed back to one of the bathrooms.

Studying his battered face, he grabbed a bottle of healing potion and drank it down, and then wetting a cloth with cool water, he wiped the blood off of his face and chin. Finally the healing potion did its work and Irvine began to feel better, the bumps, bruises and aches fading away.

Returning to the cockpit and the passengers who had all unbuckled and stood up, stretching, Irvine asked, "any volunteers to go in and wake Squall up?" They all chuckled nervously, exchanging glances before collectively shaking their heads.

"Guys? Come on, I'm getting a little tired of being hit. How about you Seifer? You never back down from a challenge." Irvine said.

Seifer snorted, "I'm also not stupid enough to make myself a target."

Irvine rolled his eyes and continued, "Zell? You're good at ducking; I doubt he'll even land a punch if he tries to hit you."

Zell shrugged, acknowledging that, saying, "Okay, you have a good point. _But_, you're coming with me." Irvine sighed, silently agreeing that Squall _might_ in fact be a little easier to handle with some backup.

"All right, fine. Let's go." Irvine said, heading back to the stateroom Squall usually used when they were on the Ragnarok, followed closely by Zell.

Moments later they were both staring down at the limp form sprawled face down on the bed, arguing about who should actually attempt to wake him.

"I'm actually kind of surprised he isn't awake already. You know how light a sleeper he usually is." Zell said.

Irvine nodded, remembering times when he'd had to wake Squall to take his turn at watch when they were out in the field. Usually, all he'd had to do was call his name and he was awake instantly. He didn't even have to touch him. But not now. Irvine suspected a bomb could go off and it wouldn't wake him, as out of it as he appeared to be.

If it weren't for the soft snoring that they could hear, Irvine would have worried that his friend had succumbed to hypothermia during the night after all.

"Maybe we should just let him sleep." Zell suggested.

"We could," Irvine nodded. He hadn't missed the small, empty bottle in the trash; so figured Squall was sleeping off its effects.

"_Or_, we could bring him along. It'll be a blast." Irvine continued, then added, "go ahead and try waking him up Zell."

Zell sighed, giving Irvine a glare and muttering, "I swear if he hits me…"

"He looks pretty out of it. I don't think you have much to worry about." Irvine said.

Cautiously, Zell reached out and gave Squall's shoulder a shove. Nothing happened beyond Squall sighing, shifting and burying his face deeper into his pillow.

Zell tried again, and this time got a muffled, "what?"

"Uh..." Zell tried but froze as one glassy turquoise eye speared him with an icy glare.

"Are we in B'lamb?" Squall asked, shifting to glare at both Zell and Irvine. He was still feeling a little woozy from that last bottle he'd emptied, and ruefully reflected that he should have just left well enough alone and gone to sleep. In short, he was drunk, it was his own damned fault, and he was going to have an evil headache in the morning.

And his two best men were bugging him in the middle of the goddamned night for no good reason.

Zell and Irvine exchanged a glance, and Irvine answered, "well… no."

Yawning, Squall stretched and rubbed his face, asking, "Where are we then?"

"Uh… we're in FH." Zell answered, gulping.

Squall stared at them, blinking, and then burst out laughing. Zell and Irvine exchanged an alarmed glance as Squall laid his head back down on his pillow and continued to laugh. Eventually he stopped and yawned again.

Reaching down for the discarded bottle by his bed, Squall squinted at it, still laughing slightly, saying, "God, what was _in_ that stuff? I've gotta be hallucinating or something. I thought I heard you say we were in FH." He carefully sat up, putting his feet on the floor and rested his still spinning head in his hands and his elbows on his knees, blinking owlishly up at his two friends.

"We did." Irvine confirmed.

"We are." Zell added.

"I swear if I didn't know for a fact I'd fall flat on my face right now I'd be all over the both of you. Are you fucking _kidding_ me? What the _hell_ are we doing in Fisherman's Horizon when I gave you a direct order to take us back to Balamb!" Squall shouted, getting unsteadily to his feet, wavering and sitting down quickly with a quiet expletive.

"Well, first of all Squall, this action is under _my_ command. You are simply a passenger on this vehicle, which is currently piloted by _me_. Besides, we're _all_ on personal time. Long story short buddy, _nobody's_ under your command right now, we're all free agents. And here's another thought that may not have occurred to you. Do you really want to go home to Rinoa as drunk as you obviously are right now?" Irvine asked.

Squall blinked at him, realizing that Irvine was right, and cursing again that stupid impulse he'd had which had resulted in his current condition.

"Yes. You're right. I'm definitely drunk." Squall said clearly. Irvine shook his head. Zell had told him how odd it was that even completely wasted out of his mind; Squall barely slurred his words, instead continuing to speak almost as precisely as he would if he were cold sober. It was actually really funny.

"In fact, I think I should just go back to sleep until I'm not drunk anymore." Squall said, yawning and turning to dive back into his pillow.

"Nope, sorry. You can sleep later. You need to come with us now." Irvine said firmly, grabbing Squall's shoulder.

"You know," Squall said mildly, glaring icily at the both of them, "I have this sudden urge to cause severe bodily harm to the both of you." Without warning he grabbed Irvine's wrist and twisted it into a painful wristlock, hitting all the pressure points as well as employing leverage on the joint itself.

Irvine sank to his knees, swearing pungently.

"Um, Squall?" Zell said. Squall looked up curiously, still holding Irvine's wrist in a position that looked as though he could snap it like a dry twig.

"That's Irvine's gun hand. You don't want to handicap your best sniper, do you?" Zell asked.

"Oh. No, I guess I don't." Squall said, releasing Irvine's wrist. Irvine stood up, rubbing at it.

"Jeez, man. I just wanted to invite you along to check out this cabaret I found here in FH." Irvine said.

Squall frowned and asked, "What's a cabaret?"

Zell and Irvine exchanged a puzzled look, and Irvine asked, "Do you seriously _not_ know?"

Squall shook his head.

Irvine grinned, "Get dressed buddy. You're about to get educated."

************************************************************************************************************************

Standing just inside the doorway of the aforementioned cabaret with the rest of the guys that Irvine had brought along for the party, Squall simply blinked in confusion at what he saw.

It was small, and dark, and dingy, pretty typical for a bar in FH. Also typical was the mingled smell of smoke, rust, petroleum and body odor. Music blared and lights flashed, also, pretty typical for a bar. But that wasn't what had Squall so confused. It was full of scantily clad women, some of them wearing next to nothing. He supposed he shouldn't have been all that surprised. This _was_ Irvine's idea after all.

The _source_ of Squall's confusion? He didn't know where to _look_. Nothing was safe. Most of the women there were topless, and from a tactical standpoint, simply closing his eyes wasn't really a viable option. Particularly when one took into account the rough look of the patrons there. Even drunk however, Squall at least made sure his shields held and nothing was leaking through. He was pretty sure that this was _not_ something that Rinoa should know about. _Ever_.

"I don't think I should be here," Squall said vaguely.

Irvine clapped his hand onto his shoulder and grinned, "don't worry man, what Rinoa doesn't know won't hurt her."

"You _could_ have just told me that 'cabaret' is another term for 'strip club'." Squall said, glaring at him. Unwillingly, he followed Irvine into the bar and they located a table large enough for their group. They all sat down and a waitress immediately appeared. Irvine ordered beers for everyone in the group, though at that point, Squall thought _he'd_ be better off with just water.

"Its not _just_ a strip club though, see? It's a _cabaret_." Irvine said, indicating the tiny stage that occupied one end of the establishment.

"Well, it _looks_ like a strip club." Squall replied flatly.

"Just watch." Irvine said.

An attractive young woman took the stage and began to sing, a smoky, sultry song suited to the environment. Like the rest of the females there, she was barely dressed, but the outfit she wore fortunately covered what it had to. At least it was safe to look at her.

"Okay, so it's called a cabaret because there's a _singer_?" Squall asked.

"That's right." Irvine answered. Squall rolled his eyes.

Their beers arrived and Squall pondered his for a moment before taking a small sip. He studied the surroundings, taking in the young women circulating throughout the room and gyrating suggestively at the various tables scattered about. He sighed, taking another halfhearted sip of his beer before setting it aside and reaching for a glass of water instead. He was already well beyond his limits and straying into dangerous territory. Just _walking_ into the damned bar had taken far more concentration from him than it should have.

He hated the dizzy, foggy feeling in his head, the general lack of coordination and fine motor control and most of all; he hated the fact that eventually, he would be severely hung over. Squall already knew his judgment was affected, if it hadn't been, he wouldn't be in this _cabaret_ in the first place.

"This place is awesome!" Watts grinned, adding, "C'mon Squall, even _you_ have to admit that the scenery here is gorgeous!"

Squall shrugged. Yes, the girls _were_ pretty, most of them. A man would have to be either dead or blind not to notice. And since neither condition applied to Squall, then yes, he had to agree with Watts. But while acknowledging and even admiring some of the young women milling about, he had to admit that while some of them were quite spectacular visually, they didn't do a thing for him. In Squall's opinion, Rinoa had them all beat.

It didn't take long for the young ladies working the room to notice a table full of handsome young men, particularly when the normal clientele of the establishment ran to rough-edged, middle aged stevedores and mill workers. It took even less time for them to converge upon the group.

"Hi guys," smiled a curvy blond. "I don't think I've seen you here before. New in town?"

"Yes ma'am," Irvine drawled with a grin.

"I don't know about you Sherrie, but I think these are the best looking guys I've seen all night. Especially _this_ one." A sultry brunette studied Squall with a downright predatory gleam in her eyes.

_Oh, boy. This one's got trouble written all over her…_ Squall thought. And that was pretty much _all_ that was on her too, her brief outfit consisting only of a fringed g-string and nothing else.

"Reeve, you be careful. I just saw Tank come in tonight."Sherrie, the blond, whispered to her. Squall perked up his ears at that. Even with the loud music blaring, his better than average hearing had caught that.

_Yes, definitely trouble_. He thought again, and tried to catch Irvine's eye to warn him. Unfortunately, his attention was focused on a fiery redhead that was doing something suggestive that vaguely resembled dancing.

"Uh, Irvine?" Squall tried again.

"Relax buddy, they won't bite, will ya darlin'?" Irvine grinned at the redhead.

"Not unless you ask me too," the girl said huskily, winking.

"No, Irvine, that's not what I..." Squall began, but was interrupted by the brunette girl, Reeve. Who, apparently, was far stronger than she looked as she pulled Squall's chair around and plopped herself firmly onto his lap.

"Hello baby, what's your name?" the girl said, shifting her position to straddle him. Squall gulped. Okay, she was cute. And she had _very_ nice…. _Idiot! Look at her eyes! Her EYES!_

Squall focused on her eyes, which were a warm, dark brown. Like Rinoa's. Seeing the resemblance got him thinking about her and missing her and…. really, _really_, missing her… he shifted uncomfortably. He needed to think about something else. _Anything_ else. Like nearly freezing his ass off in Trabia.

"What's the matter cutie? Cat got your tongue?" the dancer asked curiously, draping her arms over his shoulders.

Squall shook his head, "no…"

"So?" the girl prompted.

"Squall." He answered.

"Squall…. I like it." She said, trailing her hands down his chest. Squall took a deep breath, wondering if this girl was just working him for the tips or if she was actually coming on to him. He couldn't tell, but from what he'd seen so far, she was being far more…. _physical_… than the other girls were with the other patrons there. Either way, it was getting _very_ uncomfortable for him, in more ways than one.

"You have gorgeous eyes," she said, then she leaned forward, brushing her lips lightly along his cheek toward his ear, and whispered, "I'm off work in an hour. Maybe we could get together later."

Okay. She was _definitely_ coming on to him. And Squall had no idea what to do about it. He wasn't interested. Sure, she was cute, but so what? Rinoa was beautiful, and she owned his heart. Trouble was, while Squall's heart was firmly devoted to Rinoa, his traitorous body wasn't nearly as faithful. What that girl was doing was getting Squall aroused to a painful degree, and it forced him to try and focus his fogged mind and spinning head on _anything_ that would quell that excitement.

"Uh…miss?" Squall began.

"It's Reeve." The girl said, smiling, brushing her lips against his. Squall closed his eyes and swallowed.

"Could you _not_ do that? Please?" Squall asked, dragging in a deep breath and willing his head to clear. It wasn't working.

"What's the matter, don't like it?" She asked, full lips curved in a knowing smile. She knew damn well that his _body_ at least, liked it very much.

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean…" Squall said, trying and failing to give a sensible answer. This had to stop. Somehow.

But when it _did_ stop, it was not in a manner that Squall would have chosen.

"Reeve! What are you doing?" A gravelly growl caused the girl to roll her eyes in exasperation.

"I'm _working_ Tank." She said sharply, turning to a looming form that seemed to block out the light. Squall looked up, and up, and up at what had to be the biggest longshoreman he'd ever seen. He easily equaled Ward's seven feet. _This_ could be bad.

"Doesn't look like it. Looks more like you're trying to score with the guy." The man rumbled.

The girl stood up, to Squall's mingled relief and mounting apprehension, and faced the man squarely. She tossed her hair back, put her hands on her hips and raised her chin. Squall had to give her props for courage in facing down a mountain of a man who looked like he could break her in half with two fingers.

"So what if I am? You don't _own_ me, Tank! I told you we're through and I meant it!" Reeve said.

"We're through when I say we are!" Tank shouted, grabbing her arm in a crushing grip.

"Ow! Let go of me!" Reeve cried, struggling.

Without thinking, Squall stood and said firmly, "let her go." Common sense would have told him to stay out of it, or, failing that, use a more diplomatic approach to diffuse the situation. However, Squall's common sense was currently passed out cold somewhere in the corner of his mind, and on his best day, Squall could never be considered at all diplomatic.

This was _not_ Squall's best day.

"What are you gonna do about it, eh shorty?" The man challenged.

Squall blinked, surprised. Okay, he wasn't overly tall, but he couldn't actually be called _short_ either. He was respectably average in height and was perfectly fine with it. He'd never considered himself to be _short_. In fact, that was the first time that particular insult had been applied to him. He found that the undeserved and inaccurate description angered him. Of course, compared to the towering behemoth confronting him, Squall _was_ short.

"You know what? I really hate people that find it necessary to compensate for their own shortcomings by bullying smaller and weaker opponents. I _especially_ hate big guys like you who think it's okay to manhandle a girl half his size. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you _should_. Besides, it sounded to me like she didn't want anything more to do with you." Squall said, then groaned inwardly as the deliberately incendiary words left his lips. Apparently, his common sense was the filter between his brain and his mouth.

Tank's response was to shove Reeve to the side with a growl and raise a huge, balled fist. Squall saw the blow coming, and while his mind screamed for him to duck, his reflexes were apparently passed out cold right along with his common sense.

So, instead he blinked stupidly as the man's fist came at him and smashed him square in the jaw, sending him sprawling. He lay flat on the floor and dimly heard the sound of chairs scooting back, seeing stars and trying to fight the fog in his mind that had intensified with the punch he'd taken.

"Squall, you okay man?" Irvine knelt by him, looking down on him in concern.

"Ow." Squall said, blinking and rubbing at his jaw. Both his jaw and his head ached, and Squall suspected he'd knocked his head against the floor when he'd fallen. He simply lay still for a moment, blinking. His head and his vision gradually cleared and he tried sitting up.

"Stay down, buddy. We'll handle this, you're not in any condition to fight." Irvine said grimly.

Squall tried getting up anyway. Damned if he was going to take a dive and let someone else fight his battles for him. He never had and he never would. Unfortunately, the moment he stood upright, he had to agree with Irvine's assessment. His head spun so badly he had to sit back down or risk passing out. At the moment at least, Squall couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

So, instead he watched as his friends, and yes, he realized with surprise, they were _all_ his friends, even Seifer; leaped to his defense. Five trained SeeDs and one spy, who all knew their way around down and dirty bar fights. It had the potential to get really ugly as Tank's stevedore buddies who were there gathered around him, ready to engage in a battle royal.

Before any punches were thrown however, an ominous click from the direction of the bar caused them all to turn and stare at the bartender, who held a huge double-barreled shotgun pointed directly at them.

"Tank, I've warned you before about busting up my place and hassling my girls. Now, you want to start some shit with these boys, be my guest, but do it outside." The bartender ordered.

************************************************************************************************************************

Irvine and Zell helped Squall to his feet and they all left the bar. Squall's head was still spinning and aching, and he wondered if he might have a slight concussion.

"We're leaving now, right?" he asked. He couldn't seem to find his balance and it was really starting to piss him off. A cure spell would take care of the head, but it wouldn't do anything for the effects of the alcohol.

"Not just yet. We have some unfinished business with this bruiser." Irvine said, indicating the big longshoreman and his companions.

Turning to Zell, Irvine asked, "You up for a fight?"

Bouncing on his toes for a moment, Zell took stock and replied, "yeah. I think I can handle that guy, no prob."

"_That_ guy? Are you kidding?" Nida asked, eyes wide.

"If you beat that guy, chicken-wuss, I'll buy you hotdogs for a month!" Seifer challenged, laughing.

Zell raised his eyebrows and grinned, "You're on Seifer!"

Irvine snorted at that, then turned to Zell, "get warmed up. I'm gonna go talk to that guy."

"Alright." Zell nodded and started dancing and limbering up.

Irvine strolled casually over to the big guy who was hanging out with his friends next to the bar. Scanning the area, he noticed that it was becoming easier to see. Dawn was not far off. They had all gathered in an open, debris-scattered field next to the railroad tracks that ran through FH.

"You're awfully good at sucker punching a guy who was too drunk to duck." Irvine said to him.

"You want a go at me cowboy?" the man challenged.

Irvine shook his head, answering, "Not me, no. But, I do have a proposition for you."

"What?" the longshoreman, Tank, asked, studying Irvine expressionlessly.

"We settle this with one of our best fighters against you. With a wager to sweeten the deal." Irvine said.

Studying the group of SeeDs, Tank narrowed his eyes, taking their measure. While none of them matched him for stature, they all looked hard and fit, even the young man he'd punched. And they all, to a man, had a steady fearlessness in their eyes that said "military". Soldiers then; either from Esthar or Galbadia was his guess. Well, he'd handled their type before.

"Fine. What's the wager?" Tank asked.

"Three hundred gil." Irvine said.

Tank nodded, then asked, "Who's your guy?"

Irvine nodded over to Zell, who was still warming up.

Tank stared, then laughed, "Are you serious? You want me to fight on my knees with this guy or something?"

Irvine smiled grimly, "Your choice. You in?"

Still laughing, Tank said, "Yeah, I'm in. No skin off my nose if that little pipsqueak is suicidal."

"Fine. Be ready in a few minutes." Irvine said, walking back over to Zell and the rest of the SeeDs.

Approaching Zell, Irvine asked, "You sure you can handle this guy?"

"Yeah. I've dealt with guys like him before. Just because he's big doesn't mean he can fight. I'll bet he's gotten by on sheer brute strength." Zell said, confidently.

"Are you junctioned?" Irvine asked.

Zell paused, considering the question, then answered, "Well, I knew we were gonna need to stock some cure spells, so I _did_ junction a GF."

"Which one?" Irvine asked.

"Cerberus." Zell answered. Irvine nodded. Cerberus had the added benefit of boosting speed and agility as well as giving its host the ability to stock and use magic. Zell, already quick and agile, would be absolutely dizzying.

"Do you think I should drop the junction and just fight him man-to-man?" Zell asked, looking concerned for a moment. Maybe if it was a tournament or a fight where there were referees and rules, but this was a street fight outside a bar. No rules, no holds barred, win at all costs.

"No. I can guarantee he's not going to fight fair, so you'd better not either." Irvine said firmly. Zell nodded.

"All right. Let's do this." Zell said giving himself a final shake.

What followed surprised even those present who were familiar with Zell's abilities. The big longshoreman was still chuckling as Zell approached.

"You still seriously want to take me on, huh pipsqueak?" Tank said.

"I'm always up for a challenge." Zell said.

"Okay. You got balls, I'll give ya that." Tank said, and without further comment, he attacked.

Zell easily avoided the swing, darted under the man's arm and landed two solid, _hard_ punches to the lower ribs. Which broke easily. Tank grunted in pain and tried to grab Zell but missed. He was out of Tank's reach before he could recover and try to use his greater size and weight to his advantage.

To win the fight, Zell knew he could not close with the man. Slow and lumbering he may be but if he got a good hold on Zell the advantage would be his. Instead, he forced the man to chase after him, tiring him out in the process. He didn't completely avoid Tank's attacks however. Quick and agile as he was, Zell had been drinking and even his reflexes weren't at one hundred percent.

A miscalculated duck cost Zell a solid punch in the face that knocked him down and left him stunned for a moment. Before Tank could press his advantage however, Zell quickly recovered and bounced to his feet. Zell's quick movement caused Tank, who was preparing to tackle Zell and use his greater weight to pin him down and pummel him into the rust colored dirt, to stumble instead and fall to his knees.

Before his opponent could even blink, Zell was on him, grappling for a choke hold on the big man's bull neck. Tank fought viciously, flinging himself backward and slamming Zell into the ground under his greater weight, then rolling to try and shake him off. But Zell held on, wrapping his legs around the man's chest while finally locking in the choke hold.

Zell grit his teeth, panting and sweating as he fought to keep the hold, pulling it in just enough to cut off the man's air. It was a delicate process, choking a man out without out actually killing him, and Zell knew to the millisecond exactly how long to keep the hold. When Tank relaxed, Zell relaxed his hold enough to allow him some air, but if he started to fight again, Zell tightened it. The man eventually learned that Zell had him and could choke him out at will. The fight ended quickly after that.

"All right, I give!" the man grunted, wheezing for air. Zell released him and stepped back warily, watching to see if the man moved to attack again as he got slowly to his feet, rubbing his neck and panting painfully.

"Damn, you're one tough little fucker. Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Tank asked, studying Zell and not believing that he'd just been bested by a guy half his size.

Zell shrugged, "When you're always the youngest and the smallest, and you're always getting bullied, you either live your life always afraid, or you learn how to fight." He brushed the dirt off his shirt and added, "I learned how to fight."

Tank nodded, "looks like I owe your buddy three hundred gil."

"He's right over there." Zell nodded toward Irvine and the rest of the group. He walked over and was immediately inundated with backslaps and hi-fives. Tank followed more slowly behind him.

Seifer shook his head with a half-smile, arms crossed, saying, "That was seriously impressive. Looks like I owe you a month's worth of hot-dogs." There was a collective laugh that immediately quieted and they all watched warily as Zell's erstwhile opponent approached.

"Hey, cowboy. Looks like we got a bet to settle." Tank said, digging into his pocket. Counting out the money, he held it out to Irvine, who took it and nodded his satisfaction.

"All right guys, let's get going," he said. They all nodded and began to leave.

"Wait." Tank said, and asked, "I gotta ask. Are you guys G-army or Esthar soldiers?"

"Neither," Zell answered. "We're SeeD mercenaries." He turned and left with the rest of the young men in his group, leaving Tank and his buddies staring after them.

He'd heard of SeeDs, but until now, had never met one. Based on what the _smallest_ of the group had done to him, Tank had to acknowledge that for the most part, they deserved their fearsome reputation as fighters. If they'd decided to take him and his friends on in a group, Tank was pretty sure they'd come out the winners.

"Those guys were _SeeD_?" one of Tank's friends said incredulously. Tank nodded.

"They didn't look all that tough, especially the guy you punched out." another of his friends said.

"Looks can be deceiving." Tank said with a shrug, and then added, "C'mon, let's head over to Rex's Tavern and grab some beers."


	12. Preparation

Dawn was staining the sky above FH as Squall, Irvine, Zell, Seifer, Watts, Raijin and Nida finally began to make their way through the outpost toward the Ragnarok. Squall and Zell had both cured themselves, although in Squall's case, it only healed the injuries sustained from the punch he'd taken. The hangover yet to come, was an entirely different matter.

By this point, after being up all night drinking, fighting and, for _some_ of the participants in their adventure, getting laid, even Irvine was ready to call it a night.

"Hell of a night, eh guys?" he said, grinning at them as they walked along.

"Yeah. That was a blast. You and I need to party together more often Irvine, we could get into some serious shit!" Watts said with an evil grin.

Squall rolled his eyes, saying, "Just don't ask me to bail you out of jail."

Watts snorted, "There wasn't a jail made that could hold _me_. If I wanted to, I could have the lock picked and be out of there in a heartbeat."

"Look me up next time you're in town Watts, we'll take off to Deling City or something and tear it up." Irvine invited.

"You got it man." Watts replied.

They continued walking, then suddenly found their pathway blocked by several grim looking men. It took Squall a moment to realize that they were actually FH's local constables.

The leader of the group stepped forward and ordered, "I'd stop there if I were you. Everybody, keep your hands where we can see them. You all are under arrest for disturbing the peace and public drunkenness."

"Seriously? But none of us are actually all that drunk, are we?" Seifer protested. Squall shrugged, but the rest of the guys shook their heads.

"We will determine that when we get you back to the station. I suggest you come with us…. _quietly_." The officer said.

They all looked at each other and came to a mutual decision that taking on the local constabulary would be a singularly unwise move. And that was how they ended up sitting in a local jail cell in Fisherman's Horizon. For two days.

Because it was a weekend, Monday was the earliest that they could go before a judge, get their fines, and get the hell out of town.

Sitting in a jail cell with six of your closest friends is a good way to get to know them, Squall reflected. It was also a good way to learn that being stuck in jail with six of your closest friends really, really sucks.

For one thing, the damn cell was too small for all of them, but there were only two cells, and another drunk occupied the other one. Only this guy really _was_ drunk. And loud, and obnoxious. For another, there were only two bunks. One toilet. NO privacy.

Irvine at least, tried to keep everyone's spirits up by singing the tune that the girl at the cabaret had sung. It was a slow, bluesy tune, and Squall was surprised to learn that Irvine actually had a very good singing voice. Unlike his own.

Squall was currently sitting on one of the bunks, leaning against the wall and trying to ignore his pounding head. And possibly get a little sleep, in spite of the uncomfortable position.

"Irvine," Squall said, eyes closed, "while your singing is pretty good, it's not helping with the headache."

"Why don't you give it a try?" Irvine invited. Squall opened his eyes and stared at him.

"What, me? Sing? I don't think so." Squall said.

Zell echoed that response, saying, "Yeah, you really don't want to hear him sing. It's not a good idea." Seifer perked up his ears and traded a grin with Raijin. Nida and Watts likewise focused their attention on Squall, Zell and Irvine.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Irvine said.

Squall and Zell both replied in unison, "Yes it can."

"Prove it." Seifer supplied with a smirk. Squall glared at him.

"How about you let me be the judge of that? I used to room with a musician, and I even considered quitting Garden to join his band." Irvine said.

"You did?" Zell asked. Irvine nodded.

"I was going to be his guitarist but he found a local guy in Deling City that was better, and after thinking about it a bit, I decided to stay at Garden. I was better as a shooter than I was as a musician. I still play sometimes though." Irvine said.

"Well, that explains how you knew how to play guitar at that concert we did." Zell commented.

Squall snorted at the memory, "yeah, I think he was the only one that actually knew how to play an instrument. The rest of you guys just…guessed. Although it wasn't bad for people who barely knew how to play."

"So come on Squall, sing something." Irvine urged.

"I'm not drunk enough for that." Squall said.

"_Nobody's_ drunk enough for that." Zell added. Seifer and Raijin laughed at the comment.

"Come on Squall, we're already in jail, might as well add torture to it." Seifer said.

"I still owe you one for that, don't I?" Squall said.

"I thought we cleared the air about that when we had our 'discussion' about me rejoining Garden?" Seifer asked, frowning.

Looking back and forth at the two of them, Irvine and Zell traded a frown, and Irvine asked, "Wait, what are you talking about, you owe Seifer for being tortured?"

"You never told them?" Seifer asked, surprised.

"I never told anybody. I didn't want to talk about it." Squall said, glaring at Seifer and hoping he'd take the hint. Unfortunately, he didn't.

Seifer sighed, and began, "Okay, you guys have to realize that I was. …Brainwashed … by Ultimecia. I'm not anymore, just so we're clear on that. Anyway, I was ordered to obtain some information from Squall. As the leader of the squad that attacked Edea, the reasoning was that he would know more about his mission than the rest of you. I think Edea managed to convince Ultimecia that keeping Squall alive and interrogating him was better than simply letting him die. That's the only reason that I can think of that allowed Edea to heal him."

"So it _was_ Edea that healed me." Squall said. Seifer nodded.

"She was still fighting Ultimecia, Squall. She never stopped. That was why you guys were able to defeat her so easily. Ultimecia was not only fighting you guys through her, but she was fighting an internal battle as well against Edea, and it weakened her." Seifer explained.

"Anyway, yes, I tortured Squall for information. I think, among the many things I have to be ashamed of, that tops the list." Seifer admitted.

"Why?" Irvine asked.

Seifer sighed, "Because, while I was doing that to him, zapping him with that electro-shock…he never said anything. Not a word. He screamed, yeah. But…I could see his eyes begging me to stop. And I didn't. I felt like I was torturing my little brother. And I couldn't stop." He blinked and scrubbed his hand over his face, avoiding the stares of the rest of the SeeDs present, unwilling to look into their eyes and see their condemnation.

Then he added, "I couldn't believe how much punishment you took Squall. You really _are_ a lot tougher than you look."

Squall snorted, "thanks. I think." He leaned his head back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes again, hoping that by doing so, the rest of his friends would find something else to talk about. The current trend the conversation had taken was stirring up memories that Squall would much rather forget.

"We all knew that." Zell said, and then he frowned.

"You said you used electro-shock on him, while you were torturing him, right?" He asked Seifer.

Seifer nodded, "Yeah. It doesn't leave a mark and it hurts like hell. If it's done right, there isn't any permanent damage."

"When we escaped, Squall looked like he'd been _beaten_. Badly." Zell said quietly, glaring at Seifer.

Seifer frowned, "not by me. He was fine when I left him."

"I _was_ beaten. Remember that warden you left me with?" Squall asked, eyes still closed. He really, _really_ didn't want to talk about _this_ part. The merits of electro-shock use in interrogation were still under investigation. If anyone ever asked him, Squall would tell them that yes, there _was_ in fact permanent damage done to nerves that had been fried by the thousands of volts of electricity that Seifer had sent coursing through his body. It had taken several strong cure spells to heal him, and for months afterward, the slightest touch to Squall's bare skin was agony. Even now, he was still a little hypersensitive. Apparently, cure spells and healing potions could not fully heal nerve damage.

Even before their mindlink however, Rinoa's touch somehow had the power to soothe him. It was the only thing that did. At least, early on when they'd first become intimate. Now, he didn't seem to be as sensitive as he used to be, and he attributed that to Rinoa's power, healing what conventional cures could not.

But that was what had made what the warden did to him so much worse. He shuddered, fighting the memory and cursing Seifer for bringing it up.

"Squall? You okay man?" Irvine asked, worried. Seifer frowned; disturbed at seeing Squall suddenly begin _shaking_. He hadn't turned a hair while they'd talked about the electroshock torture that Seifer had done. He hadn't _enjoyed_ it, which was pretty obvious. But it also didn't cause him to break into a cold sweat and start trembling.

"What did he _do_ to you?" Seifer asked quietly, remembering the man and knowing he was probably the most brutal bastard he'd ever met. And he hadn't thought anything of it _then_, but remembering back now, Seifer recalled the nasty look in the man's eyes as he left Squall under his guard.

Swallowing hard, Squall asked, "Do you know what having thousands of volts of electricity frying your nerve endings does to them?"

Seifer shook his head, answering, "no." He knew what it _felt_ like. All SeeDs knew. It was part of their training. They all got a taste of that sort of thing to prepare them for the reality. Of course, it was done at a low level so that nothing permanent would be damaged. But withstanding torture was something a SeeD had to learn how to do. However, training could only go so far in preparing for the real thing. No matter how prepared a person thinks he is, _everyone_ has a breaking point.

"It makes them sensitive. The slightest touch burns like fire. A blow is like being stabbed by knives. Of course, to get the maximum effect, it has to be on bare skin." Squall said in a flat, dead voice. He couldn't continue, lost as he was in the recollection of that horrible eternity he had spent stripped naked, assaulted and violated by the beast in human guise calling himself 'warden'.

"Oh, my God…" Seifer whispered, placing his hand over his mouth and staring at Squall in dawning horror. A chance comment about how "pretty" Squall was, rumors of the man's behavior with other inmates…things which, taken separately, may not have amounted to much. But, added together formed a pattern that Seifer, if he'd been thinking clearly, might have detected. But he _wasn't_ thinking clearly, and he _didn't_ detect the pattern, and he'd left Squall _alone_ with the man. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened next.

"Squall, I am so, _so_ sorry… I didn't know… you _have_ to know I wouldn't have ordered _that_…" Seifer said, slowly shaking his head, eyes wide. Squall remained silent, eyes closed, still shuddering convulsively.

"Squall?" Irvine asked, gripping his shoulder.

Squall forcefully struck his hand away, snarling, _"don't touch me!"_

The rest of the SeeDs stared at each other, eyes wide. Seifer silently confirmed what they'd all suddenly understood. Watts however, was still confused.

"Okay, guys? I'm not a SeeD, so you're going to have to clue me in here. What am I missing?" Watts asked, looking around at them. They all hesitated, unwilling to broach a subject that even the strongest of them quailed at contemplating.

Then to everyone's surprise, Squall opened his eyes and answered Watts' question.

Staring blindly off into space, he said tonelessly, "When you become a senior level SeeD cadet, you undergo an intense conditioning program to teach you how to handle torture. They tell you about the different methods used, their effects upon the person being tortured and what you can do to withstand it. They also tell you how effective it is as an information-gathering tool. See, when you're a SeeD, you not only have to withstand _being_ tortured, you sometimes have to be able to torture someone else." He paused, rubbing at his pounding temples, then continued, "Certain types of torture are more effective than others. Physical torture has its limits in that the human body can only take so much before it shuts down entirely. And its been proven that it's ineffective in obtaining information because if its used too much or the person has a high tolerance for pain, you can't be sure if what they're telling you is the truth or if it's what they think you want to hear in order to make you stop."

Running his fingers through his tangled hair, Squall focused on Watts and went on, "Psychological torture is a little more effective but it takes more time, because you need to know the subject being tortured intimately. You have to know their minds so you can better mess with them, for lack of a better term. You're taught about all of this, and they do their best to prepare you, but there is one type of torture that can't be simulated and there is no real way to prepare for it."

"What is it?" Watts asked, feeling sick suddenly at how emotionless Squall was in laying it all out to him.

"Rape." Squall answered. The word fell on dead silence and Watts stared at him, his nausea intensifying.

Watts shook his head in denial as Squall continued relentlessly; "They talk to you about it of course. Its part of what happens in battle situations. But its mostly the girls they try to prepare for it, since unfortunately, they're the most common victims. Most of the guys don't even want to _think_ about it happening to _them_, and they tend to avoid that part of the course if they can."

Then Squall's eyes suddenly went cold and hard as he said, "but it _does_ happen."

"You mean, you were…?" Watts began, swallowing down bile.

"Yes." Squall answered shortly. He lapsed into silence then, taking a deep breath and trying to expel the tension and calm the tremors that still wracked him. Oddly, they seemed to be fading as he'd faced and acknowledged to his friends what had been done to him.

"You never talked to _anybody_ about this, did you?" Irvine asked, concerned. Squall shook his head silently. In retrospect, maybe he should have talked to a counselor about it. That's what they were for, after all. At the time however, he could barely _think_ about it let alone articulate it verbally to a total stranger. And now? He'd thought it safely forgotten.

That was until a chance mention of torture inside a jail cell brought it all back.

"There were only two people who ever knew; the warden, and me. He was the first man I killed the moment I got my gunblade back." Squall answered grimly.

"That was the guy that was attacking me, wasn't it? When I was trying to get Selphie and Quisty's weapons back?" Zell asked. Squall had leaped in from _nowhere_ and cut the man down without warning, slaying the other guards that were with him with equally brutal efficiency. Despite being obviously hurt, Squall's lightning fast attack had awed Zell and terrified the remaining guards, sending them running; to no avail. Squall had chased them down and killed them too, to prevent them raising an alarm and bringing in more guards than they could handle.

Remembering their escape, Zell suddenly understood Squall's sheer ferocity as he literally cut his way through anyone and anything in his path. The rest of the team quickly learned the safest place to be as they fought their way out of the prison, was _behind_ him.

Squall nodded. Then he rubbed his hands over his face and yawned. God, he was tired. He felt drained, not only physically but emotionally as well. He knew that facing and trying to get past that event was a long time in coming, but then, he'd never been very good at dealing with past traumas, preferring to simply bury them deep in his mind and forget them. But this _one_ thing, not even his GF's could touch. Even three years later, the memory was still as fresh as an open wound. He felt slightly betrayed by that.

_I am sorry master, but we cannot ERASE those types of memories. The ones that leave the deepest mark remain regardless. We can only dim them a little._ Shiva told him.

_Scars, even psychological ones, cannot be erased._ He thought.

_Just so,_ Shiva agreed.

Leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes once more, he said, "Now that we all know my deep, dark secret, can we please talk about something else? Or better yet, just not talk at all?"

"How about singing?" Irvine asked with a half-smile. Squall glared at him.

"You still _on_ that? Do you _want_ me to traumatize everyone within earshot?" Squall demanded, exasperated.

"We can always plug our ears if it gets too bad. Come on, humor me." Irvine said.

Squall sighed and rolled his eyes, then cleared his throat. Opening his mouth, he hesitated for a moment, and then frowned, shutting it.

"I don't know any songs," he admitted.

"What about that barmaid song?" Zell asked, then groaned and hit himself in the head for reminding him.

"Oh, that one." Squall frowned, then said, "I only remember pieces of it. I guess I could try the one you were just singing Irvine."

Clearing his throat again, he gave it his best try, wincing at the flats and sharps in the wrong places, and the overall _badness_ of it. A chorus of groans confirmed that it was as bad as he'd thought.

"You were warned." Squall said with a shrug. Irvine however, looked thoughtful.

"You actually have a decent voice. It's a nice, light baritone. You just can't seem to make it hit the right notes." He said. Squall stared at him.

"What?" he asked, wondering if Irvine was kidding… or simply insane.

"You took music, right?" Irvine asked.

Squall shrugged, "we all had to. Part of the basic curriculum." Irvine nodded.

"So, you can read music?" Irvine asked. Squall nodded.

Then Irvine sang a note, and asked him, "What note did I just sing?"

"B flat." He answered promptly.

Irvine tried another note, and asked, "Okay, that one?"

"A sharp" Squall answered. Irvine tried several other times, with Squall naming the correct note each time.

Finally, Irvine laughed, shaking his head. "Unbelievable."

Squall frowned, "What?"

"Yeah Irvine, what are you doing?" Zell asked.

"You can't sing a lick but you have perfect pitch. That's really kind of funny." Irvine said.

Squall snorted, "_I_ could have told you that."

"I'll bet with some practice you could learn to sing pretty well though." Irvine said.

Squall shook his head, "Thanks, I'll pass." Irvine shrugged.

"Why?" Zell asked, puzzled. Irvine was right, even though Squall couldn't sing in tune; his overall vocal quality was actually quite good.

"Not my thing." Squall answered simply.

"Hey, Watts," Seifer looked over at him, and asked "if you can pick any lock you want, why haven't you sprung us from this joint yet?"

"Because I don't want to have a warrant waiting for me next time I'm in FH." Watts answered.

"Oh, that." Seifer smirked.

Squall agreed with Watts. As little as he liked sitting in jail, and as badly as he wanted out, he wanted a warrant even less. If he had to do anything official in FH, the last thing he wanted was an arrest warrant waiting for him the moment he arrived.

_Wouldn't the tabs just LOVE that,_ Squall thought acerbically. They'd have a field day with it, he was sure. Come to think of it, that brawl at the Trabian resort and casino would have been good tabloid fodder as well, if any of their reporters happened to be there. Hopefully, there weren't.

Squall closed his eyes again and tried to relax against the hard wall behind him, and finally get some sleep. In spite of the fatigue dragging at him, the pounding headache and his overall emotional rawness made sleep elusive. As a SeeD mercenary, he prided himself at being able to sleep pretty much anywhere, anytime there was an opportunity to do so. Even if it wasn't a _deep_ sleep, any rest at all was better than none, but this time the best he could manage was a light doze.

Only partially asleep, he was fully aware of the quiet discussion the rest of his companions were engaged in, probably thinking he was farther under than he actually was. He was mildly irritated by the fact that he was the subject, but was too tired to take issue with it or pay attention to it. Firmly deciding to ignore it, he tuned out their quiet voices and let his mind drift.

Quite without intending to, his mind sought out and found the one refuge where he truly felt safe and at peace. A whispered greeting, a gentle sharing of emotion and the last, lingering pain of an unhealed wound was finally salved. Soothed once again by Rinoa's gentle spirit, Squall finally relaxed into true sleep.

************************************************************************************************************************

By the time they finally saw a judge, Squall was seriously considering having Watts pick the damned lock and get them the hell out of there, warrants be damned. When he saw who the judge _was_, he nearly groaned aloud. After a tooth grinding eternity listening to the man harangue, lecture and sermonize them, they _finally_ got their fines, paid them, and left.

"I can't _believe_ Mayor Dobe is also the city magistrate? In what kind of messed up world is that even legal?" Zell fumed.

"I'm actually kind of surprised you managed to stay calm through all of that Squall. _I_ wanted to punch the guy." Irvine said.

Squall shrugged, saying, "He's entitled to his opinion."

"Yeah, but calling us amoral, warmongering _baby killers_? _We_ exist because fools like _him_ are too scared to do their own dirty work!" Zell exclaimed.

"Yes, and the next time FH is threatened with destruction, Mayor Dobe can either learn how to defend it or watch it burn. Of course, we'll be more than happy to _help_… _if_ he hires us at our regular rate." Squall said coolly, adding under his breath, "the self-righteous, sanctimonious prig." The rest of the group chuckled at that.

Finally reaching the Ragnarok, Squall asked, "Irvine, can I trust you to _finally_ take us home to Balamb?"

"Yes, I think we've had about all the fun we can handle." Irvine assured him, sitting down in the pilot's seat and belting himself in.

Looking back at the rest of the passengers, Irvine asked Watts, "Is there anyplace you want me to drop you? Or is Balamb okay?"

"As long as by 'drop' you actually mean 'landing and letting you exit the craft like a sane person', you could 'drop' me in Timber." Watts said.

"You got it buddy!" Irvine said, punching the required buttons.

Squall snorted and said, "I'm going to take a shower. I need one in the _worst_ way."

"I think we all do by now," Zell observed.

"Speak for yourself, chicken-wuss." Seifer wisecracked. Zell contented himself with simply raising his middle finger in response. Seifer laughed, and Squall shook his head and headed toward his stateroom and the shower.

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall stood under the shower and simply let the hot water sluice over him, luxuriating in the warmth and the sensation of being _clean_. As incarcerations go, a couple of nights in the local FH jail wasn't the _worst_ thing that Squall had experienced. Reliving the nightmare he'd endured in the D-district prison _was_.

Fortunately, after letting his friends know what had happened to him there, any further discussion on the subject had ceased, much to Squall's relief. It was an odd fact however that in getting that out, the pain _did_ seem to be lessening a bit. But the memories still haunted him.

The warm water relaxed him and Squall sighed, tipping his face into the spray and wetting his hair thoroughly before reaching for his shampoo. There was no way in hell he was going home to Rinoa with the stink of that jail cell on him. The others may not have noticed it but the scent of rust and oil; body odor and other, even less pleasant smells had permeated everything. It had nauseated Squall to the point that he simply couldn't eat.

Not that what they'd been offered in the way of food was at all palatable anyway. Ordinarily, food was food and Squall would have eaten it. To stay strong, and to stay alive, you did what you had to, and ate whatever didn't eat you first. But not this time. The giant knot of tension in his guts, coupled with the nausea, wouldn't allow it.

By the time the second day dawned with Squall again refusing to eat, he could tell his friends were beginning to worry. He wasn't a complete fool however; he at least drank water. He could manage that.

As the tension in the pit of his stomach uncoiled, Squall's hunger returned, and he hoped there was something to eat in the galley. It was while he was rinsing off for the final time that his vision suddenly fogged and he swayed, bracing against the shower wall. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. Obviously, he was a little lower on resources than he'd thought.

A blast of cold water brought Squall to his senses, and he woke to find himself sitting in the shower with no recollection of how he'd come to be there.

Yeah, he had to get something to eat. Soon.

Reaching up, he shut off the water and gathered himself, then slowly pulled himself to his feet. He grabbed a towel and dried off, took one look at his shaking hands and decided against shaving. Then he dressed, pulling on one of his new shirts, the heather gray one, and one of his new pairs of jeans.

Making his way to the galley, he searched around and found some tinned soup, and warmed it up in the microwave. It would do for a start. Sipping the rich broth from a coffee cup, he began to feel much better, less shaky.

Squall was just finishing his soup as Watts wandered in.

"I don't suppose you managed to make any coffee did you?" He asked. Squall shook his head.

"Do you have any here?" He asked again, and Squall shrugged.

"I made some the other night. Should be in that cupboard over there." He indicated the one. Watts rummaged around and found it in short order. Minutes later he was enjoying a steaming cup.

Sitting down across from Squall he commented, "So you finally ate something. What was it, soup?"

Squall nodded, "All I could find. It'll do till I get home."

Watts nodded and sipped at his coffee. As he did, he studied his friend. Squall looked slightly pale and still had two days' worth of stubble despite having showered. But his eyes were bright and alert, though Watts could see the shadows that lurked behind them still. He realized, those shadows had not been so dark when he'd first met him on the train as the SeeD Rinoa had hired; before his abortive attack upon Edea and subsequent stint in the D-District prison.

"You know, I'd heard about…that place… from Rinoa. It was part of why she was so passionate about her hatred for Vinzer Deling. But…until now, I never, _really_ knew how bad it was." Watts said.

"Unless you talk to someone that's been there, you won't know. And as far as I know, me and the rest of my team were the only ones that ever escaped." Squall said.

"But, weren't there prisoners in there when you guys got out?" Watts asked, puzzled.

Squall nodded, "And we released as many as we could, but we had to fight our way out. It wasn't possible to save everyone. _We_ made it, but the guards cut down pretty much everyone else that tried."

"What about after Deling was killed, and general Caraway took over? Didn't he close the D-District prison and release everyone that was still being held?" Watts asked.

Squall sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, and then focused back on Watts, answering, "he closed the prison, yes. But it was empty when he did. Near as we can figure it, after Deling was killed, a standing order went into effect: no witnesses, no evidence. The entire prison was sanitized. Not one prisoner was found. There's no doubt that they're all dead, but Caraway never found the killing field."

"So, you're the only one…" Watts said, and swallowed.

Squall nodded, then said, "I was only there for a few hours, and that was enough to give me nightmares for the rest of my life. There were people there that had endured what I did, and worse, for _years_."

Watts shook his head. He couldn't imagine how _anyone_ could endure that kind of treatment for _years_.

A gentle bump indicated that the Ragnarok had landed.

Putting his hand out, Watts said, "I guess this is my stop. See you at the wedding."

Taking his hand, Squall shook it, nodding silently.

Before leaving Watts hesitated, then offered, "Look, if there's anything I can do, give me call. I'm not a shrink but I can listen."

"Forget it." Squall said.

Watts frowned, "are you sure? This isn't something you just forget like that…"

Squall gave him a stony glare and enunciated clearly, _"forget it."_ Watts nodded, understanding then.

"All right then. Well, take it easy." Watts nodded and gave Squall a sketchy wave. Squall nodded back.

He glanced over at the coffeepot and saw that there was enough left for a cup, and got up and poured some. As he drank, he glanced at his hands and found them steady, so after he finished it he got up and went into his bathroom to finally shave.

************************************************************************************************************************

Irvine was just landing the Rangarok on the plain outside Balamb Garden when Squall finally reappeared. He'd been gone so long, Irvine had started to worry; when they'd finally left FH, Squall had looked decidedly pale, and Irvine knew that it had been at least two days since he'd last eaten.

He still looked a little pale, but when asked, he acknowledged that he had managed to eat something, and his color was better.

As he cycled the engines down, Irvine sighed with relief, "Home. Finally."

"Yes." Squall agreed with equal relief. Irvine and the rest of the SeeDs got ready to leave and Squall was already making his way toward the exit.

Irvine exchanged a look with the rest of the SeeDs, Seifer included, and then called out, "Squall, wait." Squall stopped and looked back at them, expression neutral.

"Look, I'm sorry about how things turned out…and…. well, none of us knew about that other thing…" Irvine said hesitantly.

Then Seifer spoke up, "I can't tell you how badly I feel about that..."

Squall gazed at them all, still expressionless, but his eyes were cold as he said flatly, "forget it. _All_ of it." He stared at them for a moment, making sure that they understood that this was _not_ a request. It was an order. Then he turned and left.

************************************************************************************************************************

Squall had walked halfway to his apartment, wondering where Rinoa was, before remembering that all he had to do to find her was to open his mind to her. He had almost forgotten, due to his efforts at _not_ broadcasting anything to her.

Shaking his head at his foolishness, he took a deep breath and relaxed his shields. Brushing her mind, he smiled slightly as he turned toward her direction as unerringly as a compass.

_"I'm back, Rin."_ He sent and his smile broadened as he felt her joy. He lengthened his strides, increasing his pace; he would _not_ run, that would be…. _uncharacteristic_. But the closer he drew to her, the more he ached to hold her in his arms.

He turned toward the Quad where she was waiting for him, trotting down the stairs and noticing as he passed the planted areas that there seemed to be a lot of flowers in bloom. By that observation he guessed that it had been far too long since he'd been to the quad or paid attention when he was there.

The late afternoon sun dusted gold over the white marble paving, and glittered off of the intricate blue mosaics inlaid into it, flashed off the spray of water that splashed musically in the fountain. The carefully manicured lawns, groomed trees and shrubberies, and the multicolored riot of flowers added their counterpoint of color and scent to the area.

Rinoa stood up from the marble bench upon which she had been sitting beneath a decorative orange tree and advanced slowly. She was wearing pale blue scrubs; apparently she had just come from the infirmary. Squall couldn't help thinking how cute she looked.

Rinoa smiled, thinking, _"and you look gorgeous. So, you finally broke down and went shopping? What precipitated this life-altering event?"_

_"The fact that I had no choice."_ Squall answered, still smiling. Rinoa laughed softly and walked into his embrace. Squall wrapped his arms around her and simply held her, closing his eyes, breathing in her scent.

"Rough trip?" Rinoa asked quietly. Squall didn't answer but every night for the last two nights, she'd felt him with her. While he never said anything, she had the sense that his mind was seeking refuge, a safe haven. From what, she didn't know, and suspected she never would.

"Yes," he whispered, stroking her hair.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked, then gasped quietly as his arms tightened around her, holding her so tightly, he trembled. Hearing her gasp, he relaxed his hold. But the trembling didn't stop.

"No." _I can't_. He answered her.

"You're shaking. Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

"Yes." _I don't know_.

"Are you sure?" she persisted.

"I'll be fine." _Maybe, eventually_.

"Squall?" Rinoa asked him, and then instinctively searched for the source of his disquiet. Before she got even close to it, Squall directed her away from it, gently but firmly refusing to allow her there.

_"There are some things Rin, that I simply cannot share with you. Please respect that."_ He told her, pulling back and gazing into her eyes, holding her face in his hands and stroking her cheeks gently. She nodded slowly, feeling a faint, sad ache at the shadows that haunted his gaze. She knew the things he did for a living and what he'd experienced, as a result of them, weren't always pleasant.

She also knew his refusal to share those things with her was motivated by love. He refused to allow her entrance into the darkest part of his mind because of his fear that what lurked there would destroy her- destroy _them_.

So, instead she poured all that she felt for him into their link, watching as the bright flood of love she sent drove back the shadows in his mind and heart, and lightened his eyes.

Then his lips were on hers, and all she could feel was him pulling her close against his body, all she could taste were his lips, and all she could sense was his love.

_"So,"_ she asked while they kissed, _"did you do anything special while you were gone?"_

_"No."_ He answered, adding, _"nothing worth remembering."_


	13. Chasing Daisies

Selphie banged on the door to Squall's room, hoping that Rinoa was there. Just days away from the wedding, she had already moved most of her things into Squall's apartment. She spent most of her time there anyway, so they'd decided to go ahead and start moving her in. A bark from Angelo confirmed that Rinoa was still home.

When Rinoa opened the door, Selphie, bouncing excitedly, said, "Hi Rin! Hey, put on your prettiest sundress and come with me!"

Rinoa blinked, feeling a little slow, and asked, "uh, why?"

"Because we've got a _lot_ of stuff to do today and number one on the list is _fun_!" Selphie announced.

"Okay," Rinoa said, letting Selphie in. She immediately pounced on Angelo, who greeted her with enthusiastic stubby tail wagging and wet doggie kisses.

"Just let me get a shower and coffee and we can get going." Rinoa said, heading for the bathroom.

"While you're doing that, why don't I walk Angelo for you?" Selphie volunteered.

"Would you? Oh, bless you. I'll be quick." Rinoa said, relieved.

Rinoa had just awakened, late, mainly due to a certain amorous commander who still somehow managed to get up at the crack of dawn and leave her with a soft kiss before going to work. She was currently on vacation from her training with Dr. Kadowaki in preparation for her wedding and honeymoon. Squall however, was busy making up for lost time and playing catch-up due to his unexpected disappearance.

The night Squall had returned from wherever he'd gone to, his lovemaking had been almost fierce. While always passionate, this time it seemed to have come from a darker place. While she'd been surprised by it, she hadn't been frightened. On the contrary, she'd met it with her own, and the result had been…. explosive.

As always, they'd been mind-linked, and this time their sharing had gone deep. Far deeper than perhaps, Squall had intended. A hint of deep pain and humiliation from him had made Rinoa gasp before he'd quickly shoved it away and concentrated on her. He'd distracted her so skillfully from that brief flash that she almost forgot about it. _Almost_.

Her instinct was to seek out what had caused that pain and heal it if she could. _If_ Squall would let her. But he had to allow it first. Since he refused to say anything about it, the best Rinoa could do was send all the love and healing energy she could to him and hope it would be enough.

It seemed to be helping anyway. He was more relaxed and more…normal… than he had been the night he'd gotten home.

Finishing her shower, Rinoa toweled off and started getting dressed, puzzling over what to wear. Looking through her options, she eventually decided on a blue silk spaghetti strap dress with a fluttery handkerchief hem. Rummaging around the still chaotic closet (which irritated Squall to no end…Rinoa hadn't realized what a neat-freak he was...) Rinoa finally located the pair of shoes she was looking for, a pair of silver sandals that laced midway to the knee. A quick dab of moisturizer, sweep of mascara and a bit of lip gloss and she was ready.

"Okay, done. So, where are we going and what are we doing? And why did you want me to wear a sundress?" Rinoa asked, walking into the living room where Selphie was entertaining Angelo by tossing his squeaky toy around for him to chase.

Selphie immediately bounced to her feet and smiled, saying, "wow, you look gorgeous, as always."

"Thanks, you look pretty cute today too. So? Why the sundresses?" Rinoa prompted.

"Oh!" Selphie said, brushing the dog fur off of the pretty white and yellow dress she wore, answering, "Well, we're going to my place first to meet up with the rest of your bridesmaids, and we're going to make silly hats."

"Silly hats. I'm wearing a sundress to make a silly hat?" Rinoa asked, confused.

"Yes." Selphie answered, urging her to get moving, "and when we are done making said silly hats, we are going to wear them to the chocobo race."

"Chocobo race? _What_ chocobo race?" Rinoa asked, wondering if it was even worth trying to follow Selphie at this point, and instead simply go along with whatever she had planned.

"Only THE biggest chocobo race of the season! The Race for the Daisies! Drama! Pagentry! Silly hats galore! The silliest hat wins a prize Rinoa! C'mon, let's go!" She urged.

"Okay, just let me grab my purse and keys." Rinoa said, grabbing the items.

As they left, Rinoa said, "I hope you have coffee."

"Yup, there will be coffee, freshly brewed." Selphie reassured her.

"Good," Rinoa said with relief.

************************************************************************************************************************

Moments later she was sipping her coffee in Selphie's kitchen, staring in bemusement at the chaos that had exploded all over her friend's living and dining room. Various types of hats were stacked on one side of her couch and a riotous assortment of silk flowers, fake fruits, feathers, ribbons, random boxes of cheap, tiny plastic toys, and other items too numerous to catalogue were scattered all over the apartment.

"Where did all this stuff _come_ from?" Rinoa asked.

"Oh, leftovers from the various balls, festivals, celebrations, whatever, that I've organized over the last few years. It sort of accumulated, but what the hey, it gives me plenty of stuff to work with for the hats." Selphie said. A knock at the door interrupted her and she went over to answer it, greeting the person on the other side and inviting them in.

Rinoa set down her coffee and smiled happily at Ellone as she entered, approaching her and giving her an enthusiastic hug.

"When did you get here? I thought you and Laguna weren't coming until tomorrow!" Rinoa asked.

"We all decided to come early. When Selphie heard I'd arrived she invited me to your bridal shower." Ellone smiled. She was wearing a peach colored dress that was very flattering on her.

"Oh. So _that's_ what this is." Rinoa said.

"Yeah. Didn't I mention that?" Selphie asked, puzzled, then turned to get the door again when another knock sounded. It was Quistis, elegant in a mint green halter-top sundress.

They all gathered in Selphie's dining room and each of them had put the gift bags they had brought to the side and Selphie started explaining what she had planned. Then another knock sounded and she exchanged a puzzled glance with the rest of them and went to answer it.

It was Fujin, who had eschewed the sundress mandate and instead was striking in a tailored black pantsuit.

"Fujin! Hi! I didn't know you were coming! Come in!" Selphie exclaimed, letting her in. She placed her gift bag with everyone else's and nodded silently at their greetings, a slight smile on her face.

While Rinoa didn't know Fujin well, they didn't hang out together or anything like that, she still thought it would be nice to invite her to join the wedding party as a bridesmaid. Aside from her relationship with Seifer, Fujin seemed to be even more asocial than Squall had once been. Certainly, she didn't seem to have any close friends that anyone was aware of. While a little nervous initially at how the invitation might be construed, Rinoa decided to at least make an effort at including Fujin.

She had been pleasantly surprised (and, truth be told, a little intimidated) when Fujin had accepted.

Rejoining them in the dining room, Selphie announced, "Okay, we're all making hats, the sillier the better, so let's get to it! Glue guns are here," she indicated the glue guns where they rested on her dining room table, along with the extra glue sticks. "And the hats are over there on the couch." She waved her hand toward them.

"You know Selphie, the hats are _already_ made. Shouldn't you be telling us to _decorate_ them instead?" Quistis said, inspecting the stack of hats and finally choosing one that she liked.

"Decorate them then! Whatever! Just make 'em silly." Selphie said. Rinoa exchanged a smiling glance with Ellone and they both went to select their hats.  
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"So how's it going guys?" Selphie asked, coming back into the dining room from the kitchen.

"Fine. So, what do you think, is this silly enough?" Rinoa asked, holding her hat up. It was a white, broad brimmed one that she'd chosen, and she'd circled the crown with a pale lavender grosgrain ribbon. Piled along the brim was a mish-mashed assortment of blue, lavender and purple silk flowers, white and blue chocobo feathers, and for an added spot of color, a sprig of bright red plastic cherries.

Selphie grinned, "Pretty silly. Here, try these. Tell me what you think." She started handing everyone home made Popsicles.

"Popsicles?" Quistis asked, trying it. Rinoa gave hers a try and smiled.

"Well, they're more like champagne-sicles." Selphie answered.

"MMMM…good." Rinoa sighed, licking the top before sucking it down. Selphie took one look and burst out laughing. Quistis and the other girls stared for a moment before catching on and laughing at the inadvertently suggestive image Rinoa presented.

"You do that _very_ well Rin! Have you been _practicing_?" Selphie asked, laughing.

Rinoa raised her eyebrows and gave Selphie an arch look, answering, "Maybe."

"I don't think we need to ask _who_ she's been practicing with," Quistis said dryly. Ellone blushed and hid a laugh behind her hand.

Then Fujin suddenly smiled, her single eye sparkling with a wicked gleam, and slowly, deliberately, ran her tongue from the base of the Popsicle to the tip. Then she closed her lips over the top and sucked on it. Deeply. The rest of the girls present collapsed into helpless laughter, with Fujin grinning triumphantly at them.

"I think we need to include these at the wedding reception. Every male within sight of this would be dying in minutes!" Quistis laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. Selphie nodded, still laughing.

"Oh, my!" She gasped, fanning herself with her hands. Wiping tears from her streaming eyes, she checked the time.

"We need to finish up, there's still the chocobo race to get to and we've got a train to catch. Let's see your hats, ladies." Selphie requested.

When she saw them, she pronounced them silly enough to wear to the races. Then they spent the next few minutes with Rinoa opening her gifts. Most of it was lingerie, some of it decidedly racy, but all of it beautiful and Rinoa thanked them all sincerely for their gifts. She left the gifts at Selphie's for safekeeping while they were at the races.

In the interest of time, Selphie checked out a garden car and they all drove to the train station in Balamb, catching the train to Deling City.  
************************************************************************************************************************

They spent the remainder of the afternoon at the chocobo track, waiting for the Race for the Daisies, in a private box enjoying a gourmet lunch complete with champagne. They presented, as a group, a quite attractive picture; five beautiful women all dressed up and wearing the goofiest hats they could cobble together out of odds and ends.

Selphie had gone with a theme for hers, with several small, stuffed chocobos racing each other around the brim, and enough plastic fruit glued to the crown that it looked as though she'd brought her own fruit salad with her.

Fujin had gone with a black straw fedora type hat, added a white ribbon around the crown and stuck some black lace to the brim that draped down over her eye patch. She had added some white flowers and feathers, but the overall effect was more elegant than silly. It _did_ look good on her, however.

Quistis had a powder blue, broad-brimmed hat that she had glued numerous random toys and stuffed animals onto, adding ribbons streaming down the back and around the crown. Silk flowers and ivy were stuck in here and there to fill in the gaps.

Ellone's hat was a bright yellow straw hat that she had literally covered with white and yellow silk daisies. Interspersed amongst the daisies were little yellow chocobos.

"So, which bird do you like in the first race?" Selphie asked Rinoa, winking and grinning at the attractive waiter who took her empty plate of shrimp salad.

Rinoa studied the race program with a frown and shrugged, "I have no idea. I don't make it a habit of going to chocobo races." Then she suddenly laughed, "These names are so funny! Look at this one Selphie!" She pointed it out to Selphie, who laughed.

" 'Birdbrain'? Oh, that's just mean! Chocobos aren't stupid!" She protested, still laughing.

"Well, I've got _my_ money on 'the wife knows everything'," Quistis said primly, then she laughed, "They usually do." The rest of the group laughed, agreeing with her.

Then Rinoa, who'd been going over the names of the birds entered into the Race for the Daisies, suddenly began laughing hysterically. Everyone else stared at her, wondering what had gotten into her.

"Um, Rin? You might want to breathe at some point sweetie," Selphie suggested. Rinoa nodded, eyes streaming as she gasped for air and tried to regain control over herself.

"How much did you drink Rinoa?" Quistis asked, wondering if she might be drunk already.

Still gasping, Rinoa wiped her streaming eyes and managed, "I'm not.. not drunk… Look…" She held the race program out to Selphie, and pointed to the name of one of the birds in the main race.

"Oh my God!" Selphie gasped, then started giggling uncontrollably herself, " 'Squawk Leonhart'? Someone named a _chocobo_ after him?"

Quistis, Ellone, and even Fujin all collapsed into helpless laughter at hearing this.

Fanning her overheated face, Rinoa, still convulsing with laughter, said, "That's it, I've got to bet on him. I'm marrying his namesake after all…"

"Yeah, and he's my brother, so I'm with you on this one!" Ellone said, laughing.

Looking around at them all, Selphie asked, "So, are we all going to bet on 'Squawk Leonhart' in the race for the daisies then? It's a 50-1 shot, just so you know."

They all nodded, with Quistis saying, "Rinoa, you _have_ to tell us what he says about his namesake. I would pay good money to see the look on his face."

Just then, the waiter came back; smiling at how much fun the girls seemed to be having.

"Is there anything else I can get for you ladies?" He asked, appreciating how attractive and lively they all appeared to be.

"Yes…" Selphie narrowed her eyes at his name tag, and continued, "Rick. More champagne please?"

"Coming right up." He smiled and left.

Selphie turned to the rest of the girls and asked, "Okay, who do you like for the first race? We've figured out the main event already."

"I'm going with 'Birdbrain'." Rinoa laughed, sipping at her champagne and feeling delightfully giddy.

"I like 'Feathered Duster'." Quistis said.

"I thought you liked 'The Wife Knows Everything'." Selphie asked.

Quistis shrugged, " 'Feathered Duster' has a better record."

"My money's on 'Choco-Boko'." Ellone said.

Selphie looked over at Fujin, who shrugged and said, " 'HALF-COCKED'."

Selphie burst out laughing, "Seriously? I wonder what the story behind _that_ name was? What are his odds?" Checking the program, she remarked with a giggle, "Well, he's not only 'Half-Cocked', he's also twenty to one."

Standing up, Selphie said, "Well, I'm betting on 'The Wife Knows Everything'. Let's go place our bets before the windows close." They all adjourned to the betting windows and placed their bets, making it back just as the birds were making their way onto the track and heading for the starting line. They lined up, getting ready for the start of the race.

Then suddenly, the bell rang and the birds, with their riders, all sprang forward, running toward the first turn. By the time they'd rounded the turn, Quistis' choice, "Feathered Duster" was in the lead with "Birdbrain" hot on its heels. They raced into the far turn with their positions unchanged, and Quistis and Rinoa got into the spirit of things, jumping up and cheering on their chosen chocobo.

"And now, rounding the far turn, its Feathered Duster, Birdbrain, the Wife Knows Everything, and closing fast, is Half-Cocked. Trailing the field is Choco-Boko, Twenty gil to the Pound, and bringing up the rear is Running Fire." The track announcer pronounced over the P. A. system.

Heading into the homestretch, Half-Cocked made his move, surging past the tiring leaders

The track announcer, himself sounding excited as the spectators cheered, called out, "And now here comes Half-Cocked, moving up to third place, then second. He's passing Birdbrain! Now it's Feathered Duster, still hanging onto the lead, and Half-Cocked, challenging from the outside! Feathered Duster and Half-Cocked with just meters to go are neck and neck! Feathered Duster and Half-Cocked! Feathered Duster surges ahead by a beak! And it's Feathered Duster at the wire for the win!"

Quistis jumped up and down, cheering and exchanging high-fives with the rest of them, then went to collect her winnings. They passed the remainder of the afternoon in similar fashion, enjoying the excitement of the races run. Sometimes winning, sometimes not, until the final race, the featured event, was run. As one, they all placed their bets on Squawk Leonhart and watched eagerly as the birds took the track.

At first, it looked pretty bad for the bird, for even with their wholehearted support, he still went off at forty-five to one odds. Obviously few people had faith in him. Worse, he broke badly at the start, languishing near last place at the first turn. When the field strung out along the backstretch however, he began to make up ground. With his rider skillfully guiding him, the chocobo gradually made his way toward the leaders. As they entered the far turn, his rider guided him into a gap on the rail and he gained ground on the inside, stalking the leaders until he was right behind them.

Then, as they entered the homestretch, his rider urged him forward and he picked up speed, catching the third place, then the second place bird. Finally, just strides from the finish line, Squawk Leonhart drew even with the leader then stuck his beak out in front as they passed the wire.

The grandstand thundered and Selphie, along with Rinoa and the other bridal shower guests cheered and hugged each other at winning.

"Just like his namesake, huh Rinoa?" Selphie asked, grinning as they walked to the window to collect their winnings.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The odds don't matter to him, he'll find a way to win, regardless." Selphie said.

Rinoa nodded, agreeing with her, "You know? You're right."

Because the chocobo had been such a long shot, the payout was actually quite impressive. By this time, Rinoa was feeling distinctly tipsy, having consumed a good amount of champagne. The rest of her companions were in a similar state, with the possible exception of Fujin. If she was even close to drunk, she gave no sign of it.

Before the end of the race meeting, the contest for the silliest hat was held. Looking at all of the entrants, Rinoa thought that they had all done a pretty good job of decorating their hats. Selphie for sure had the goofiest one there, in Rinoa's opinion. So she was faintly disappointed when Selphie only managed to win an honorable mention for her chocobo-fruit salad hat.

It was only after they'd arrived back in Balamb that they realized they had a bit of a dilemma on their hands.

"Uh, Rin?" Selphie began, walking unsteadily toward the garden car they'd driven to the Balamb train station.

"Yeah Sefie?" Rinoa responded, similarly unsteady.

"I think I'm too drunk to drive us back." She said.

Looking around at the rest of her friends, all of them giggly and some of them stumbling, Selphie added, "I think we _all_ are too drunk to drive."

"NOT ME." Fujin said. Selphie narrowed her eyes and nodded. Fujin actually hadn't drunk that much champagne, so appeared to be fine.

"Okay." She handed over the keys, adding, "Thanks Fujin. At least we don't need to start calling around for a ride."

"Yeah, I love Squall to pieces but I really don't want to subject him to a bunch of drunk and giggly girls, with Fujin being the possible exception here. I seriously doubt he'd be _happy_ about it…" Rinoa said, sighing.

"How can you love Squall to pieces when he'd be _much_ more fun in one piece?" Selphie asked.

Ellone and Quistis both giggled, with Ellone hiccupping suddenly.

"You know what I mean Selphie," Rinoa said.

"Of course I do; you love _all_ of his bits and pieces!" Selphie announced, then commanded, "Fujin, take us home so Rinoa can get back to all of her favorite bits and pieces." She giggled.

Fujin snorted slightly, then nodded and they all piled into the car and arrived safely back at Balamb Garden as sunset was gilding the tops of the edifice. All throughout their activities, Selphie had been snapping away with her digital camera, promising to upload the pictures as soon as possible and email them out to everyone present.

They walked into garden in a group, and Rinoa sighed, "Thanks guys, that was fun, wasn't it?" She draped her arm around Selphie and they both made their way, somewhat unsteadily, toward Selphie's room. Ellone had been dropped off at the Balamb Hotel where she was staying with Laguna, Kiros, Ward and the rest of their group.

"Yeah, that was fun. We're gonna have to get together like this again sometime. Its fun to get a little drunk and a little silly with your friends, isn't it?" Selphie said.

"_Very_ silly," Rinoa said, and Selphie grinned at her.

"Definitely." Quistis agreed.

Fujin smiled, saying, "FUN. THANK YOU." Rinoa smiled back, reflecting that in spite of her somewhat severe demeanor, Fujin was actually quite beautiful. Certainly she had a lovely smile.

Fujin and Quistis parted company with them then, headed off to their respective domiciles. That left just Rinoa and Selphie, walking together to Selphie's place, so Rinoa could retrieve her shower gifts.

A brush against her mind alerted Rinoa that Squall was approaching, and sure enough, she and Selphie both rounded a corner and saw him coming toward them.

"Hey! There's Squall now! Hi Squall!" Selphie waved enthusiastically, trying to bounce and forgetting that Rinoa was currently leaning on her. It nearly unbalanced them both and Squall slowed his approach, watching them carefully with a puzzled look on his face.

_"Um, Rin? Are you guys okay?"_ he sent, not sure what to make of their behavior.

_"I'm fine sweetie, just feeling a little goofy."_ She sent, giggling.

They made their way closer to Squall who by now was watching them warily, still unsure of their erratic behavior.

"Hi Selphie. So what have you two been up to?" He asked, though his guess was that it included a good bit of alcohol.

"Makin' silly hats, betting on chocobo races, drinking champagne, and eating Popsicles. And drinking champagne." Selphie answered.

"You said drinking champagne twice." Squall observed, feeling a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"We drank a lot of champagne." Selphie answered, hiccupping.

"Obviously." Squall said dryly. A giddy silliness in the back of his mind almost made him laugh until he saw the mischief gleaming in Rinoa's eyes.

_"No fair making me feel that…I'm trying very hard not to giggle right now."_ He sent with a mock frown. Selphie, unaware of their private conversation, gulped, thinking she'd angered him.

"Uh, I'd better go… I'll bring your shower gifts over tomorrow. Have a good night Rin. You too Squawk… uh, I mean, Squall…" Selphie hiccupped and put her hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh. Rinoa burst out laughing, nearly falling over.

"_Squawk?_" Squall asked, staring at them both, now thoroughly confused. Both girls were laughing hysterically now. He rolled his eyes and sighed, waiting for them to calm down.

Wiping her eyes, Rinoa told him, "We watched this chocobo race today, The Race for the Daisies. And one of the chocobos there was named 'Squawk Leonhart'. We all had to bet on him and he won!"

"Yeah, he was a forty-five to one long shot and he still won! We all took home a _bunch_ of gil!" Selphie chimed in.

"A chocobo. Someone named a _chocobo_ after me?" he asked in disbelief. The mixture of outrage and surprise on his face was comical, and both Rinoa and Selphie burst out laughing.

Hiccuping, Rinoa took a deep breath and managed, "he was a _very_ good chocobo. He won me over six thousand gil." She moved closer to Squall, and the outraged, impatient irritation that he was trying hard to hide, which Rinoa could sense, began to fade a little.

Forgetting that Selphie was still present, Squall's expression softened as he gazed down at Rinoa, while she put her arms around his neck. His arms automatically came around her then, smoothing the soft silk over her skin. Slightly drunk and giddy she might be, but she looked damn good in the dress she was wearing.

"You don't look like a chocobo though." Rinoa smiled up at him.

"I should hope not." Squall said, lips twitching.

"Nope. You look more like an eagle. Except your nose isn't beaky enough." Rinoa ran her index finger down Squall's nose from the scar across the bridge to the tip, tapping on it gently. He wrinkled it in response.

"An eagle, huh? I suppose I'm glad I don't have a beaky nose, whatever that means." Squall leaned closer to Rinoa, a slow smile growing.

"I like your nose," Rinoa said softly, bumping the tip of Squall's nose with her own. "It's perfectly straight, slightly pointy, and very nice."

_"This is a very odd conversation Rin. My NOSE? I thought you liked my eyes the best?"_ he sent.

_"I like ALL of your bits and pieces. But I especially like the whole package."_ She responded, adding her feelings of buoyant happiness. The last of Squall's irritation melted away in the face of her joy.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" He asked, face close to hers. Rinoa laughed, swaying close until her body was touching his. Squall tightened his arms around her, mostly to keep her from falling, but also because he suddenly craved the feeling of her body against his.

"Yes, I am. Wanna take advantage of me?" Rinoa invited, brushing her lips against his. Unable to resist any longer, Squall answered her with a deep, breath-stealing kiss.

"Hell yes," he answered, slightly breathless. Then he added, "as long as you don't regret it in the morning."

"Never." Rinoa smiled. Then she whooped in surprise and started laughing as Squall suddenly swept her up into his arms. Selphie stifled a giggle as she watched, realizing that they'd forgotten she was there and thoroughly enjoying the unexpectedly playful side of Squall.

As they started to leave, Rinoa plopped her hat onto Squall's head, saying, "Hold my hat honey."

"Did you just stick that ridiculous thing on my head?" He asked. Rinoa' s answer was to pull him into another deep kiss. A soft giggle from Selphie caught their attention and they both turned to look at her. The tableau was so perfect that Selphie couldn't resist snapping a picture of the two of them. Rinoa giggled and Squall groaned.

"I really hope you don't plan on posting that anywhere." He said.

"I'm sorry Squall," Selphie laughed, "I couldn't resist. You look priceless!"

"Whatever," he said, shaking his head and starting to walk away, Rinoa still in his arms, the silly hat still sitting on his head.

"Bye Selphie!" Rinoa waved over his shoulder, adding, "email me a copy, please?"

"Okay Rin! Have fun guys!" Selphie waved.

_"Could you please take that silly thing off my head?"_ He silently requested. Rinoa contritely pulled it off and he sighed with relief.

_"Sorry sweetheart. You did look priceless though. And completely adorable."_ She responded, sending him the image she saw. He burst out laughing.

_"You're a meanie, damaging my manly pride like that. I may never recover."_ He sent grinning down at her. Rinoa laughed softly with him and caressed the back of his neck, smiling at him.

"Oh, dear. Can't have that. What can I do to make you feel studly again?" She asked.

"Wait until I get you home." He said, eyes beginning to smolder. Rinoa loved that about him. So cool externally, but hot under the surface. It had taken years of patience; steadily chipping away at the layers of ice that Squall's true personality had hidden under. Finally though, it was beginning to show through.

And it all came out in his eyes. They, more than anything else, gave away his moods. They were icy blue when angry, colorless gray when pensive, warm, clear turquoise when calm and happy, and smoky teal when…passionate.

"You know, I can walk. You don't have to carry me all the way home." Rinoa said, arms still around his neck.

Squall looked down at her and responded, "I know. I like this better."

"I'm not too heavy for you? We've got a way to go still." Rinoa said, beginning to worry. Although, if he was tiring, he gave no sign of it; being Squall of course, he wouldn't.

Squall snorted, "I carried you all the way to Esthar. I think I can handle walking down the hallway with you."

"Wait, what? You _carried_ me to Esthar?" Rinoa said, staring at him.

Squall nodded, "how else do you think we got there? The only way in was to walk. And you couldn't, so I carried you. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it to you."

"Why didn't _you_ tell me that?" Rinoa asked in a shaky whisper, eyes beginning to fill with tears.

Squall stopped, frowning, "I guess it slipped my mind. Are you okay Rinoa? Sorry I didn't tell you…"

_"All that way. You walked, carrying me all that way. And I never knew."_ Rinoa sent, tears beginning to course down her cheeks.

_"I had to. It was the only thing I could think of to do to save you. It was all I could think about."_ Squall responded, kissing her lips gently, then kissing away her tears. He started walking again.

"You loved me even then." Rinoa stated.

Squall nodded, "it took me a long time to realize it, but yeah." They reached the door to Squall's- _their_-home and he set her down to unlock and open it. Before he opened the door, he reached out and gently brushed a stray tear from Rinoa's cheek.

_"You got to me the minute our eyes met. It just took me awhile to figure out exactly what it was I was feeling. All I knew was that you were the first girl to completely ignore my attitude and drag me out onto the dance floor. And you proceeded to pester, infuriate, and fascinate me from then on. I had no choice but to fall in love with you."_ He thought. It was always easier for him to simply project such thoughts to Rinoa than voice them aloud. Something so private, so deep, he found difficult, even now, to actually _say_.

Squall opened the door and Rinoa walked through to be enthusiastically greeted by Angelo. Squall closed the door and leaned back against it, watching them. The dog whined quietly, and Squall sighed under his breath at the patent desperation in the poor creature's eyes.

"He needs to go out, doesn't he?" Squall asked.

Rinoa nodded, "Yeah, I think so. I've been gone all afternoon."

"I'll take him." Squall offered, grabbing a leash and some plastic bags.

"I'll come with you," Rinoa said, walking back toward him, somewhat unsteadily still. Angelo, happy and excited at the prospect of going out, leaped and bounced, stubby tail wagging madly. In his excitement, he bumped into Rinoa, causing her to stumble.

Unbalanced, she fell forward and was quickly caught by Squall. Rinoa laughed softly and Squall steadied her until she could regain her balance.

"See what a stud you are? I'm throwing myself at you the minute we walk in the door." Rinoa smiled at him.

Squall pulled her close against his body and kissed her, smoothing his hands down her back. He breathed in the scent of vanilla and tasted champagne, and he deepened the kiss, concentrating on the soft texture of her lips, her taste and scent. Rinoa melted against him with a sigh. An insistent whine and scratch at the door reminded them of Angelo's need.

"Well, it's a start." Squall said with a grin, "but I still need to take advantage of you. That'll restore me completely."

"Taking care of my dog will earn you extra credit," Rinoa said with a wink.

"I certainly hope so. I'm not picking up his mess for no reason." Squall said, then his gaze softened again, and he added, "Why don't you just wait here? No sense in risking a sprained ankle. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay, see you later." Rinoa said.

Taking care of Angelo's needs took only a few minutes. Squall reflected that this mundane task was yet another new thing to get used to that Rinoa had brought into his life, as he'd never had a dog before. He wasn't real keen on it at first, especially the part where he had to pick up after it, but even _that_ he was growing used to. As for the rest, well, he'd always liked dogs (though honestly, he was more of a cat person…), and he loved Rinoa. And fortunately, he also got along with Angelo pretty well.

When they got back home, Angelo immediately went to Rinoa, tail wagging, and Squall snorted. Yeah, he got along with Squall okay, but he was still Rinoa's dog.

Pulling Rinoa back into his arms, Squall asked softly, "now, where were we?"

Brushing her lips against Squall's, Rinoa answered, "Right about here, I think."

"Ah, yes. I remember now." Squall murmured before claiming her lips with his own.

As always, they'd left their minds open to each other, and Rinoa's champagne infused giddiness managed somehow to tap into Squall's largely unexplored playful side. The result was a mixture of both passion and laughter.

As they kissed, Rinoa tickled Squall gently along his ribs. He jumped; laughing against her lips and did the same to her. Rinoa giggled, then yipped in surprise as Squall swept her up into his arms again and carried her into the bedroom.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Rinoa laughed, and Squall grinned down at her as he set her back down onto her feet.

"Practicing." He answered, sliding his hands around her waist and pulling her close. Starting at the junction of neck and shoulder, Squall began dropping feather light kisses up the side of Rinoa's neck, making her shiver. She tried to ask what he was practicing for when he silenced her question with his lips again. That effectively ended _that_ conversation, redirecting Rinoa's attention toward a more passionate direction.

It wasn't long before clothing was removed and they were skin on skin, together on their bed, still kissing and caressing each other.

They were quickly overcome by the feelings they evoked in each other, both physical and emotional. The lighthearted bubbly happiness that Rinoa was feeling as a result of her bridal shower and the champagne added a joyful dimension that made their lovemaking even sweeter. As her mind turned back toward the day's events, she laughed out loud.

Squall's laugh echoed hers and he paused, eyes sparkling, and asked, "Why am I suddenly thinking about champagne Popsicles?"

Rinoa's wicked smile clued him in before she showed him.

"Ohhhh…." Squall moaned, closing his eyes.

_"You have about a hundred years to stop doing that."_ He sent, gasping at the physical sensations as well as the memory Rinoa sent him of the flavor of the Popsicle.

_"That's not all I have in store for you… remember, I have to fully restore your manly pride."_ Rinoa sent, making him groan again as she continued her ministrations.

_"You're doing a great job…Oh. Wow…."_ Squall's thoughts stopped dead for a moment as he saw and felt Rinoa take him fully into her mouth, deeper than he'd ever seen her do it before. She stopped just before Squall lost control, and he dragged in a deep breath. Before he could do anything else however, she pinned his shoulders down and straddled him.

But he was having none of that. Grasping her waist with both hands, he rolled over, coming to rest on top of her, kissing her hungrily. He let her know in no uncertain terms that what would restore him the most would be to see her eyes turn golden as he made love to her.

Rinoa smiled and sent a warm, joyful welcome to him as he sank into her arms and joined with her. He let her feel his satisfaction at the sight of her eyes burning incandescent gold as their lovemaking reached its peak and they fell together.

Reaching up, Rinoa ran her fingers through Squall's hair as he sighed, heart still thumping, and laid his head on her breast. He closed his eyes, relaxed and sated, smiling. Sleep dragged at him, but he fought it, not wanting to sleep just yet.

"So, how's that manly pride now?" Rinoa asked him, smiling. Squall shifted, rolling off of her and onto his side facing her. He pulled her close against him, kissing her softly, stroking her hair back from her face.

"Fully restored." He confirmed, smiling. They both fell asleep soon after.

They woke up to eat dinner a little while later, and made love once again before finally going to bed for the night.

************************************************************************************************************************

Rinoa woke with a start, feeling disoriented. Something had awakened her and left her uneasy and unsettled, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Rolling over onto her side, she found the reason. The uneasy, unsettled feeling she got was due to the palpable waves of pain, fear and shame that Squall was giving off.

He lay curled into a fetal position on his side, shaking in his sleep, caught in the grip of a nightmare. He moaned softly, and Rinoa suddenly realized that this was the first night since his return that he'd gone to sleep without his shields up.

Reaching out, she gently stroked her hand down his rigid back. As she did, she reached out and sent calm reassurance to his mind. Then she moved closer to him and pressed her body against his back, wrapping her arm around him and hugging him close, kissing the back of his neck. A soft gasp and his arm tightening over hers told her that he'd awakened.

_"I'm here."_ She sent, sending calming waves of love to his mind, reaching for the wound she could sense. He didn't want her to know what had caused his pain, and truthfully, she didn't want to know either. If it was bad enough to give him nightmares, she didn't want to know the details. But she would do her best to heal it, if she could.

_"Don't look. Please."_ He asked her. She silently assured him that she wouldn't. She simply held him, stroking his chest and giving him her warmth.

_"I won't look, I promise. Just relax, and let me help you."_ She sent. He gradually relaxed under her caressing hand, and her soothing presence in his mind and solid warmth next to his body pulled him away from the lingering effects of the nightmare.

_"I know what you're doing, what you've BEEN doing, since I got home…"_ He sent, mind slowing down as he began to sink back into sleep.

_"Do you mind?"_ Rinoa asked him, sending a surge of healing energy to the raw place in his mind that she could sense.

_"No. I don't mind. It…it's actually helping. And I love you for it."_ He sent, relaxing further.

_"And I love you too. Go back to sleep. I'm right here; I'm not going anywhere."_ Rinoa reassured him. She sighed in relief as she sensed him sinking fully into sleep. The tight ball of pain he'd curled into earlier relaxed, and his breathing steadied into a normal rhythm as Rinoa continued to hold him.

She didn't know if what she was doing was the right way to heal such inner wounds, but if it was helping, and Squall assured her that it was, then she would continue doing it. His behavior over the last few days seemed to bear that out.

Closing her eyes, Rinoa blinked away the tears that had gathered there and followed Squall into sleep.


	14. Traditions

Squall stood with his groomsmen at the altar they'd set up out on the quad at Garden, trying not to feel nervous. All of the family members of the wedding party were present; his father, Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Ellone, and surprisingly, General Caraway as well. Rinoa had told him she'd asked for her father to escort her down the aisle, which had surprised Squall since her earlier pronouncement had been just the opposite. Apparently however, they had come to some sort of understanding.

Still, it was surprising to see Caraway there, since it was only a rehearsal. Rinoa however, was glowing happily that her father had committed himself so fully to something as important to her as this.

They went through the sequence of events, from Squall and his groomsmen taking their place to one side of the altar, and the bridesmaids taking their places on the other side, to Rinoa and Caraway marching down the aisle. Cid stood in for the magistrate that would be officiating at the actual event.

Squall took Rinoa's hands and smiled slightly at her as Cid read through the ceremony. Yeah, it was a dry run, and if nothing else, an attack of nerves here would get that business out of the way. But as he focused on Rinoa, the slight apprehension he'd been trying hard to ignore simply faded away. He was _already_ committed to her. He had pledged himself to her as her knight. In doing that, he had already tied himself to her in a bond that only death could sever. The wedding was simply a formality to announce it to the world and make it official.

One major concern about the whole process that Squall had was finally resolved when he managed to speak with Cid and get his questions about the whole marriage license issue answered. So, finally, he got the correct license, which in fact turned out to be Balamb, since that was where he and Rinoa both lived. The whole citizenship question was a non-issue. He'd lived at Garden long enough that it wasn't a problem. So, he had the license. Everything was ready.

In just a little over 24 hours, he and Rinoa would be married.

It would be an evening ceremony. They had stipulated on the invitations that everyone had to be _on time_, as the entire Garden would be mobilized and taken out to sea. Those that arrived late would miss the boat…literally. They were waiting for no one. Then, the ceremony itself would take place on the quad, with the spectacular sunset Balamb was known for providing a picturesque backdrop. The reception would be in the Grand Ballroom, with the Garden returning to Balamb after a quick tour around the island chain. Then Squall and Rinoa would make their escape to their honeymoon in the Ragnarok.

"…You may now kiss your bride…" Cid pronounced. Squall leaned forward and gave Rinoa a soft kiss. Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, ignoring the hoots and laughter of those present for the rehearsal.

"Hey man! Save it for the wedding!" Irvine laughed.

"Just wanted to make sure I got that part right." Squall said with a shrug. Rinoa laughed and poked his side gently, making him flinch slightly. He smiled down at her and hugged her close.

"I think you'll do fine." She smiled at him.

After the rehearsal, Laguna had invited everyone out to the Balamb Hotel for dinner. They had a top-flight restaurant there and he'd already made reservations for 'Leonhart-Heartilly' party of twenty or so. The actual headcount was still in question because they weren't sure how many people from the wedding party were actually going to be there. There would be Squall and Rinoa's families of course, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen, but beyond that, they weren't sure who else would want to come.

Among the friends and family that were gathered for the rehearsal were selected members of the press, as suggested by Laguna. Squall really wasn't very keen on that, but after speaking with them and being assured that they would not intrude, he reluctantly allowed them to be there. Aside from cameras flashing at odd intervals (and really, that would have happened anyway, because pretty much _everyone_ there was taking pictures) they remained true to their word and stayed unobtrusive.

Rinoa seemed to thrive on all the attention and was happily chatting to the reporters and photographers present, but the fuss being made about their wedding was irritating Squall. Was it really necessary to invite _three hundred_ people to it? It seemed like everyone wanted to go, from virtually the entire city of Balamb to key political figures from Galbadia and Esthar. Yes, it was the social event of the year, apparently. And yes, they were, in a sense, royalty, owing to the stature of their parents.

After dinner, they made their way home, with Squall for one feeling relieved at finally being able to simply be alone with Rinoa for a while. The entire day had been hectic and chaotic, from completing the move-in process with Rinoa's belongings to the millions of tiny details that seemed to magnify in importance, as the wedding day grew closer.

_How_ many flowers, exactly, were being brought in from Winhill? Did the caterers order the right amount and vintage of wine and champagne? Who got to go to the wedding and who had to stay on the job to make sure everything ran smoothly, and why did Squall have to listen to every single complaint from those who didn't get the schedule they wanted? Issues like that, with the exception scheduling complaints within Garden, were why wedding planners existed, but for some reason they all still came to Squall for the answers.

And then there were the traditions that everyone seemed to want to trot out and tack onto their wedding. Rinoa and Squall had been very firmly resolved at not falling into that particular trap, with one exception: Rinoa had temporarily moved out of Squall's apartment to room with Selphie for the last two nights before their wedding. The reasoning behind that particular action was completely beyond Squall.

Being deprived of Rinoa's company for the time being did not help Squall's temperament much, and he was heartily sick of the whole circus and just wanted it over with. He put up with it with as much good grace as he could muster for Rinoa's sake, but his patience was wearing thin. With _everyone_.

"You're quiet tonight." Rinoa commented as they walked down the hallway to their apartment.

"Tired." Squall answered.

Rinoa sighed, agreeing with that sentiment, saying, "I don't blame you. This whole thing is starting to get ridiculous, isn't it?"

"_Starting_ to? It's gone well beyond that. We should have eloped." Squall grumbled as they entered the apartment. He sighed at the disorder in his normally tidy domain. He knew it was only temporary. Given time, they could get things organized and back to normal.

"That's not all that's bothering you, is it?" Rinoa asked. Squall shrugged, mind shuttered and silent, not wanting to discuss it and open up a can of worms best left alone.

"We need to get this chaos straightened out." Squall said, looking around the living room and heading toward an opened box on the kitchen counter. Rinoa stopped him by gently taking his hand and squeezing it.

"It's a big change, all of this, isn't it?" Rinoa said, waving her other hand at the boxes in the living room, kitchen and bedroom.

"Yes. I'm trying to figure out where it's all going to fit…" Squall answered, scanning his apartment.

"It'll fit. We'll make it work." Rinoa said softly, gazing up at him. Squall met her eyes, sensing that she was hinting at more than just organizing the apartment.

Squall nodded silently and turned away, changing his mind and heading toward the bedroom rather than the kitchen, taking Rinoa with him. The closet door stood partially open, and Rinoa noticed with a wince that hardly any progress had been made in organizing it.

"I still don't see why you had to stay over at Selphie's. Neither one of us is superstitious." Squall said, opening the door further and starting on sorting out the jumble of shoes littering the bottom of the closet.

"That's not the reason." Rinoa answered, beginning to feel a little dismayed that he was so clueless about it. And unfortunately, he was shielding. More than likely it was to spare her his moodiness. It made it more difficult however to discern what it was exactly that was bothering him.

"Well then, what _is_ the reason? And why the hell do you have so many damn shoes?" he demanded, sounding irritable. Yes, he was _definitely_ in a mood. Rinoa decided to ignore his grousing about her shoes, deciding it wasn't worth fighting about, and instead answered his first question.

"Selphie and I figured it would be easier for me to get ready. We're going to the salon first; get my hair, makeup and nails done. Then we'll head back, I'll get changed and meet you at the altar. See? Besides, we need to save _something_ for the honeymoon." Rinoa explained, smiling. Squall's response was a sour look and a barely audible growl.

Reaching out, she brushed his mind, silently asking for entrance. After a brief hesitation, he let her in.

_"What's wrong Squall?"_ She asked, worried.

_"I don't know, I think this is all getting to me. The whole wedding circus, the chaos here, everybody wanting this and that and foisting their demands and traditions on us… I'm tired of it. And just simply tired "_ Squall answered, pausing in his activities. Rinoa knelt down next to where Squall sat, sorting out the shoes and everything else that had gotten chucked into the closet.

"You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" Rinoa asked. She could tell he hadn't been; she could feel his fatigue. She could also feel how much he missed her being with him.

"I sleep better with you." He said.

"Nightmares again." She stated. Squall nodded. He'd reached out to her in the night and she'd calmed him each time, but he still kept her out of the part of his mind that they originated from.

"I know you don't want to talk about them, about what caused them…" Rinoa began.

Squall got up and turned away, saying shortly, "No. I don't."

_"Don't push Rinoa,"_ He warned her. She hesitated, feeling his anger start to warm through their link. But the pain was still there, and despite her efforts, something was still bothering Squall, and she wanted to help.

"Squall…" She started, getting up and going over to him. He folded his arms, expression closed. Rinoa sighed, trying to understand his attitude and feeling frustrated at his unwillingness to trust her.

"Look. I know you think I can't handle… whatever it is. I know you've done some unpleasant things as part of your job. Lest you forget, for a good portion of the time we've been together, we've fought side by side. I saw you take on three Galbadian soldiers once. You gutted two of them and decapitated the third. Without hesitation and without mercy, and so fast that they died before they could even react. I know that there is a dark part of you that makes it possible for you to be very good at being a mercenary. I _know_ this…I've _seen_ some of that darkness." Rinoa said, gazing up at him, trying to show him that she knew him for what he was and loved him anyway.

"You've only seen what I've shown you." Squall said flatly. He'd retreated again, mentally, and Rinoa was beginning to worry. She didn't know how to get him to open up again to her, and she was afraid to push him. But she worried that if she didn't push a _little_; he'd close up on her completely.

Contact. She had to touch him. The feel of her hands on his body always had the power to elicit a response from him. And as hard as it was for her, she resolved to remain calm in the face of whatever fireworks he might throw her way. Meeting anger and fear with more anger and fear would only create a destructive feedback loop that would make things worse. With a bond like theirs, even shielded, it would be counter-intuitive to give in to negative emotions. She had to keep _her_ emotions under wraps so as to allow Squall the space to feel _his_.

Moving closer, she slipped her hands around his waist and leaned into his body, ignoring his tightly folded arms and rigid stance. Resting her cheek against his chest, she closed her eyes and sighed, projecting calm. He sighed in response, and after stubbornly resisting for longer than Rinoa thought he would (long enough in fact that she began to worry her ploy wasn't going to work..) he gradually began to relax.

He unfolded his arms and lightly rested his hands on her hips. Rinoa reached up and caressed both of his cheeks, moving her hands back into the hair at his nape.

Sensing that he'd calmed a bit, she sent, _"then show me the rest of it."_ Immediately, he jerked his face away from her and stepped back, glaring.

"What do you _want_ from me?" Squall flared, anger returning.

"I want to know why. Why you're shaking in the night and why won't you show me what it is that's haunting you." Rinoa said calmly.

Squall raked his hands through his hair and laced his hands behind his neck, gazing upward at the ceiling, saying, "I can't Rin. I _won't_."

"Why?" she asked quietly. Dropping his hands from behind his neck, Squall went over to the bed and sat down heavily, appearing suddenly deflated.

Avoiding her gaze, Squall answered roughly, "Because it was the most horrific experience of my life. I can't share it with you Rinoa because I don't want you to feel what I felt. It would be unspeakably cruel of me to do that."

Rinoa's eyes stung at that statement, and she went over and sat down next to him on the bed, leaning close against his body and closing her eyes, aching for him. Squall shifted slightly and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. He simply held her for a moment, feeling the loving encouragement she was projecting.

He knew she wanted to know what haunted him out of a desire to help, but he just didn't think he could bring himself share it with her. Allowing her to experience the assault he'd suffered through their link would be tantamount to raping her himself. His entire being recoiled at that thought.

Finally, he made a decision and withdrew his mind gently from hers, raising his shields again.

Feeling his withdrawal, Rinoa gave him a worried look, "Squall?" she asked. "Please don't shut me out…" He tightened his arm around her, reassuring her.

"I can't _show_ you what happened Rin," he said quietly, "But if you really want to know, I'll _tell_ you."

Rinoa pressed herself against him and tightened her arms around him, offering her support and comfort. Squall gave her a slight, sad smile and then took a deep breath, visibly steeling himself.

Looking down at his feet, unwilling to see the look on her face as he told her, Squall began, "You know I was held in the D-district prison after we attempted to assassinate Edea."

Rinoa nodded, "yes."

"I was hurt, you know." Rinoa nodded, and Squall continued, "Edea apparently healed me. They wanted me alive so they could interrogate me for information. I was the ranking member of the team so they figured, whatever information they were after, I'd have it."

"Interrogate meaning torture, right?" Rinoa asked. Squall nodded. She hated the fact that it was _Squall_ who confirmed what she'd long suspected about the D-district prison. She remembered the day that she'd essentially _forced_ Irvine to rescue Squall and his team, only to find that they already had their escape underway. She remembered the cold, empty look in his eyes as they battled their way out…how utterly it had chilled her.

He'd been aloof before that day but Rinoa fancied that he'd gradually started to thaw with regards to her. Afterward however, he'd been well nigh unapproachable. It had dismayed Rinoa to think that the small gains she'd made with him had vanished like smoke.

She squeezed him gently, then stroked her hand up and down his tense back. He sighed quietly and looked over at her briefly, then looked away again as he continued.

"Seifer was first. He chained me to a wall and zapped me with electroshock until I passed out." Squall told her.

"_Seifer_? What did he want to know?" Rinoa asked, frowning.

"At the time, I didn't know. Of course, at that point I'd only been a SeeD for a few days. But even if I had known what he and Edea..._Ultimecia_.. were after, I wouldn't have told them. I lied, made up the craziest thing I could, and finally passed out. I figured that was it for me, I was dead." Squall said.

"It's strange, but it doesn't sound like that part bothered you too much. Why?" Rinoa asked, wondering if his own life had meant as little to him then as it sounded.

"It didn't. That was how I figured my life would end. I didn't give up anything useful to the enemy, and there wasn't anything else that really mattered to me then." Squall answered.

Rinoa remained silent, and continued caressing Squall's back. She'd been right to go back for him, she decided. Not because he would have stayed because nobody had _ordered_ him to escape, but because he would have taken a much easier, and more _final_, means of escape.

Squall took a shaky breath then. Now for the _really_ hard part…

"After I passed out, Seifer left me with the warden, who apparently was supposed to continue with the 'interrogation'. I remember him slapping me awake, just so he could fry my nerve endings again and again with more electricity." Squall passed his hand over his eyes and shuddered briefly.

In a rough voice, he went on, "My entire body was on fire by then. Everything hurt. _Everything_. The lightest touch to my skin was agony. But since I'd gone beyond even lying… at this point all I could do was scream. Apparently the warden decided … _other methods_… needed to be employed."

Rinoa swallowed, heart aching. _What other methods?_ She didn't want to ask, and seeing how difficult it was for Squall to relate this to her, she almost told him to stop. But, she realized that it wasn't for _her_ benefit that he was doing this. It was for his.

Clearing his throat, he said hesitantly, "So he… decided that if pain alone didn't work, maybe pain _and_ humiliation …would. He stripped me naked and started beating me. I fought back of course, but…it didn't do much good. I was too weak by then, there was nothing left for me to fight with. So I stopped, hoping he'd just kill me and get it over with. Instead, he… raped me."

He heard Rinoa's gasp and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. What must she think of him, to hear that? _Why did I tell her? Why?_ Her hand on his back stilled and Squall's heart dropped like a lead ball into his gut.

_Oh, Squall…_ Rinoa thought, tears flooding her eyes. He'd turned his face away, unwilling or unable to look at her.

She got up and briefly left his side to kneel down on the carpet in front of him. His eyes were tightly closed and she heard him sigh deeply as she got up, bowing his head in an attitude of utter dejection.

She reached out and took his face in both of her hands, caressing his cheeks, and whispered, "Squall. Look at me." At the same time, she reached out with her mind and touched his. He cautiously lowered his barrier a little, and reassured by what he felt from her, lowered it completely.

Opening his eyes, he saw her gazing earnestly up at him, tears tracking down her cheeks. He reached out and brushed them away. Then he closed his eyes again as she moved closer to him and kissed him softly. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his body, crushing her against him and kissing her hungrily. Desperately.

Their minds embraced each other as well, with Rinoa flooding his with love and comfort, approval for his courage in telling her, and sadness for what he'd suffered.

They left off kissing, but Squall continued to hold her, stroking her hair lightly. Rinoa leaned into him, caressing his back.

_"My first sexual experience, if you could even call it that, and it was rape,"_ he thought sadly.

_"But the second was with me. And unless I'm remembering it wrong, it was much better, right?"_ Rinoa sent.

_"It was. Although I nearly panicked when I saw how much it hurt you at first. I thought…"_ He didn't finish the thought, but Rinoa followed the direction it was going and reassured him that what they'd shared, despite the initial discomfort on Rinoa's part, was nothing like what he'd had to endure.

"Its behind you now. In the past, and it won't bother you again. I promise you." Rinoa said, firmly.

_"How?"_ Squall asked, unable to hide his worry that the nightmares would continue to torment him.

_"Trust me."_ Rinoa sent. She kissed him again, softly, sweetly, concentrating only on that, and the sensations she was feeling both physically and mentally. She speared her hands through his hair, thinking about how much she loved its silken feel and texture, knowing he could hear that thought.

Still kissing him, she pushed him back onto the bed, working her hands under his shirt and pausing for a moment to pull it off. She let him hear and feel everything she thought about him, how much she loved the warmth and scent of his skin, the taut muscles beneath, the glittering beauty of his eyes and how, like the sea, they changed with his moods.

As she kissed and caressed his body, she concentrated on their contact, delving deep into his mind while imprinting her warmth, the feel of her body against his, and the taste of her lips, into it. She sought out and found his doubts, and fears, and banished them, wiping them away in a flood of love.

Then she ventured to the place that Squall had forbidden her to see. She sensed his disquiet, now lessening, about that, and she reassured him. She knew, now that he'd told her what was haunting him, what she needed to do and how to do it.

He still resisted of course, he wouldn't be Squall if he didn't. But Rinoa ignored his protests and plunged into the heart of the darkness, replacing ugliness with beauty, pain with pleasure, hatred and shame with love and admiration. She _saw_ what had been done, and her heart ached for him, but contrary to his fears, she did not allow herself to be drawn in, so did not experience it herself. She held herself apart from him just enough to be able to see and know, just enough to heal.

In short, she did what any good healer would do. Found the wound and tended it in spite of the protests of the wounded, without letting it get to her. It was a hard won balance, harder than Squall would ever know. But she had resolved to make _this_ her life-path. Yes, she was a sorceress, and she had learned early on that she was powerful enough to be devastatingly dangerous. _If_ she had wanted to go down that path.

But she didn't, and never had. Fighting with him side by side, she realized that as a fighter she would never be the equal of even the weakest SeeD. But as her skill with her new power grew, her friends began to rely more and more upon her for support: healing and defensive magic in particular. _That_ was a path that she felt more comfortable with, and continued in that direction with Squall's full support.

Rinoa gradually pulled back from the deep contact they'd shared, and using a technique she'd learned from Ellone, she gently blanketed Squall's mind and sent him into a deep, restorative sleep. She smiled gently to herself, knowing he'd be less than happy she'd picked up that particular trick.

She laid close to him, pressed against his back, hand caressing his chest, and listened to his, deep, even breathing. What they'd shared had been just for him, to help and to heal, and she'd been happy to blanket his entire body with kisses and caresses. It felt good to Rinoa to make _him_ feel good. But when he awoke in the morning it would surprise him to realize that while they'd been incredibly _intimate_, they hadn't actually had sex. Rinoa was in fact, still clothed.

Kissing the back of his neck, Rinoa indulged herself one more time, gently stroking her hand down his back and over his bare hip. Then she got up, pulled the bed covers over him and left him sleeping.

************************************************************************************************************************

The next morning Squall woke, later than usual, feeling better than he had in more than a week. He felt lighter, freer. The cause of his nightmares was gone. Oh, the memory was still there, it couldn't be expunged completely, but somehow, Rinoa had taken away its power to trouble him. It would haunt him no longer. He yawned and extended both arms and legs in a full stretch, then rolled over to find that he was alone. He was faintly disappointed at that, what they'd shared the previous night had left him hoping that Rinoa would stay with him.

As he got up and headed for the shower, he sent a thought out to her, _"Good morning Rinoa, did you sleep well?"_ He smiled at the happy response she sent him.

_"Yes, and you obviously did as well."_ She sent.

_"I did. Thank you. I wish you had stayed though."_ He responded. Stepping into the shower, he turned it on and adjusted the heat.

_"You know why I didn't. Don't worry, we'll more than make up for it tonight."_ Squall smiled again at the sense of anticipation that Rinoa sent him. She'd obviously missed being with him as much as he missed her.

_"What are you doing right now?"_ He asked her as he started soaping up.

_"Drinking hot chocolate and eating breakfast with Selphie. What are you doing?"_ She asked.

_"Taking a shower. You're drinking hot chocolate in July?"_ He asked, rinsing his body off and starting on his hair.

_"She was out of coffee. So…showering, huh?"_ She began, and Squall felt her deepen her contact.

_"I do that in the mornings. And at other times during the day after exercising, or getting dirty killing monsters in the training center."_ Squall sent, amused. He glanced down at his body, giving Rinoa a full view (or as full as he could get from his point of view). He laughed softly at her response.

_"Mmmm…Yummy."_ She sent.

_"What, the hot chocolate?"_ He grinned, then ducked his head under the spray to rinse it off.

_"No, you."_ She responded, unable to hide her undeniable desire for him.

Squall drew in a deep breath, and thought, _"Careful Rin, we've got hours yet until we're married. You get me all excited now and I won't be responsible for what happens later."_

_"I can't wait."_ She sent.

_"Minx."_ He thought, and then added, _"I can't wait either."_

_"Well, time for me to go. I'll check in with you later. I love you."_ Rinoa sent.

_"I love you too. See you at the wedding."_ Squall sent, turning off the shower and grabbing a towel.

After drying off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and began shaving. He had several hours still to wait until the wedding itself, and he honestly had no idea what to do until then. Rinoa would be occupied with getting her hair, nails and makeup done, though Squall didn't think that it should take as long as she said it would. It wasn't like she needed a truckload of cosmetics to be beautiful.

Squall was drinking his coffee after he'd gotten dressed, when Angelo came up and laid his head on Squall's knee, gazing soulfully up at him.

Reaching down to scratch behind his ears, Squall said, "You need to go out, don't you?" Angelo immediately ran to the door, whining softly. Squall obligingly grabbed the leash and trash bags and took him out.

Upon returning, Squall was left in a bit of a quandary, wondering what to do next. He didn't need to go in to work; he'd taken the day off. He didn't really need to check on anything, it was pretty well handled; he'd worked hard on everyone's scheduling to accommodate the wedding. The quad was decorated; the caterers and florists were already arriving. In short, there was nothing really that Squall needed to do and if he went down to check (or _hover_), he'd just get in the way.

Sighing, he checked his watch. What was he supposed to do with himself for the next eight hours, thirty-seven minutes and twenty seconds? Well, he could call Laguna, but he'd likely be working remotely while in Balamb. Irvine? Zell? They were busy helping to set everything up in the quad. There wasn't anyone else that Squall could think of.

He was bored. Looking around his apartment at the half-empty boxes, he decided he'd tackle the chaos. Unpacking and reorganizing everything was guaranteed to burn several hours. It did exactly that, and looking around, satisfied that his apartment had mostly been returned to its normal state, Squall felt much better. The only remaining evidence of the previous disorder was a flattened stack of empty cardboard boxes that Squall had left by the door. At least _that_ chore was out of the way and they didn't have to deal with it after the honeymoon.

Squall checked his watch again. It was time. He quickly changed into his dress uniform, ran a comb through his hair again and headed for the quad. Before he left however, he paused, almost forgetting something.

"Angelo, come." He said, grabbing a bow tie and collar that he'd bought at the pet store awhile back for the occasion. Fastening it around the dog's neck, Squall grinned at the dapper image he presented. Rinoa would love it. Then they both left for the wedding.


	15. Transcendent

As Squall walked toward the quad, he felt the Garden begin moving, right on schedule. He hoped that everyone who wanted to be there was on board, otherwise they were going to miss the whole thing. Not that it mattered overmuch to Squall; a few less guests here and there wouldn't make a difference. The only people _he_ wanted there had already arrived.

Nida and Watts caught up with him as he drew closer to the quad, and they all walked down in a group to take their places with Zell and Irvine at the altar. At Squall's quiet command, Angelo obediently sat down next to him.

"Last chance buddy, after Rinoa gets here, there's no turning back." Irvine said under his breath.

"Irvine, do you _want_ me to hurt you?" Squall growled quietly. Irvine and Zell both laughed softly.

Then Irvine nudged him, and holding his hand out, said sincerely, "good luck man." Squall smiled slightly and shook his hand.

Then the orchestra started playing and all of the guests present took their seats. At first, Squall had privately thought hiring an entire orchestra a pointless extravagance. However, as he had given Rinoa full rein to plan her wedding as she saw fit, and he couldn't find any logical reason _not_ to hire an orchestra, he'd gone along with it. He had to admit now, that it did set the tone for the occasion rather nicely.

Squall looked down the line of his groomsmen, and they all gave him thumbs up. As the groom, Squall was given the choice of having all of his friends wear SeeD dress uniforms or tuxedos. Since Watts wasn't a SeeD, he'd decided on tuxedos. Of them all, only Squall was wearing the formal SeeD uniform, complete with all of his medals and commendations. He felt the medals were a bit much, but couldn't deny that they did look smart with the uniform.

The magistrate arrived first, walking up the aisle to take his place behind the altar, followed soon after by the bridesmaids, led by Selphie as the Maid of Honor. Quistis, Ellone, and …_Fujin_…followed. That surprised Squall, he didn't know Rinoa had asked her.

Another surprise was the fact that the bridesmaid's dresses, one and all, were actually very becoming on the girls. As a group, they all looked beautiful in the sky blue silk gowns that they were wearing. They each held a small bouquet of wildflowers tied with a blue ribbon.

Squall hid a smirk as Irvine whistled softly under his breath and whispered, "nice."

The weather was also nice, balmy with a slight breeze off the ocean. Nida's backup was steering while Nida was at the wedding, and he oriented the Garden so that the setting sun was able to dust everything with golden light. The effect was stunning.

Fluffy white clouds dusted with gold and rose as the sun descended, drifted in the sky above the tranquil, deep blue sea. Gulls and seabirds offered their cries as a counterpoint to the music that drifted on the breeze. The quad wasn't decorated as much as Squall had thought it would be, instead, the grounds themselves were simply immaculately maintained, and the multicolored array of roses, petunias, carnations, irises and a dozen other varieties of flowering plants and shrubs provided color and perfumed the air.

_"You should see this Rin,"_ Squall thought, _"its beautiful."_

_"I will. In just a few minutes."_ Rinoa sent happily.

The music changed then to the wedding march, right on schedule, and the guests rose as Rinoa made her appearance. She walked gracefully up the aisle escorted by her father, looking distinguished in his own dress uniform.

And Rinoa? Squall simply stared, transfixed, as she approached. Gilded by the setting sun, radiant with joy, brown eyes sparkling, she looked ethereally beautiful.

Like an angel.

_"Wow."_ Was the only thought he could form. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. His heart pounded and his chest constricted painfully.

"Squall." Irvine whispered with a grin, "Breathe, buddy."

Oh, right. Squall obligingly took a deep breath.

Rinoa simply smiled.

The way Squall's gaze was riveted to her made Rinoa very glad indeed of her choice of dress and accouterments. The dress, white of course, was a designer original, with a close fitting bodice and an off the shoulder design. It had a slight sweetheart neckline, to better emphasize the necklace she was wearing, the same one she'd always worn, with her mother's ring on it. Squall's ring, which had once accompanied it, now rested once again on his finger, with its match on hers.

Tiny seed pearls and crystals decorated the bodice in a design reminiscent of feathers, with the motif repeated at the skirt and along the floor-sweeping hem. More intricate embroidery appeared along the edges of the train that trailed along behind her.

Instead of a veil, Rinoa had her hair up with tendrils framing her face. Somehow, the hairdresser had managed to incorporate the same white roses into her hairstyle that she carried in her bouquet.

As Rinoa approached, a slow smile began on Squall's face, like the sun emerging from the clouds, until his whole countenance radiated joy. It was the purest, happiest expression anyone had ever seen on his face. Seeing it, Rinoa smiled back, tears beginning to swim in her eyes.

General Caraway escorted Rinoa to her place on the other side of the altar, releasing her and stepping back with a stern look at Squall and a grave nod. Squall's expression sobered and he nodded back. Rinoa turned away for a moment, handing her bouquet to Selphie for safekeeping, and turned back to Squall, taking his hands. Lacing his fingers through hers, Squall gave her hands a gentle squeeze.

_"You look beautiful, Angel."_ He thought, letting her feel how much he loved her.

_"You're not bad yourself, sweetheart."_ Rinoa responded, and almost laughed when he blushed. She let him know how adorable she thought he looked when he did that.

Then the Magistrate began, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have gathered here today to witness the union between Commander Squall Leonhart and Miss Rinoa Heartilly. It is my great honor to preside over this event, and I am sure we all wish these two young people well as they embark upon their lives together."

Turning to Squall, he said, "Commander Squall Leonhart, do you take this woman, Rinoa Heartilly, to be your lawful wife; in health or infirmity, good fortune or bad, with all honor, to cherish and respect for all the days of your life?"

Squall, gazing into Rinoa's eyes, answered firmly, "I do."

Then he turned to Rinoa and asked her the same question, "And do you, Rinoa Heartilly, take this man, Squall Leonhart, to be your lawful husband; in health or infirmity, good fortune or bad, with all honor, to cherish and respect for all the days of your life?"

Eyes shining, Rinoa answered, "I do."

Smiling at them both, the magistrate said, "Then, by the power granted to me by the state of Balamb and the good citizens therein, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Commander."

Squall took Rinoa into his arms then, and gave her a breath-stealing kiss. And he lost himself, as he always did, closing his eyes and kissing her so thoroughly, so deeply, that he was virtually unaware of anything else.

Virtually.

A collective gasp from everyone present barely registered with him. Likewise, he was only peripherally aware of a sudden dimming of the sun, which Squall attributed to a cloud passing in front of it. But a sudden buzzing in the back of his mind got his attention. Pulling back, he frowned slightly at Rinoa who gave him a confused look.

_"Rin? Are you doing something?"_ He asked. She shook her head, then looked off to the side, behind the altar and out toward the sea. An unmistakable whoosh and gust of wind as if from gigantic wings made Squall send out an inquiry to Bahamut, but he didn't get an answer.

Her eyes went wide and she gasped, whispering, "Squall, _look_!"

Following her gaze, he froze, mouth open in shock.

"What…?" was all he managed to say as he stared at the shining apparitions that were gathered behind the altar. As he watched a sparkle of light indicated another one was appearing.

It was the Guardians… _All_ of them. Not only Squall's GFs, but also every GF registered with Garden. Apparently, they had independently made the decision to bridge their dimensions to enter this one and pay their respects at his wedding.

The shadow that was blocking out the sun was indeed Bahamut, who somehow managed to perch on the stone balustrade along the outer perimeter of the quad without damaging it or anything else for that matter. Shiva stood next to him, the ice crystals dusting her glittering like diamonds in the sun. Next to her were Gilgamesh and Siren. On the other side stood Ifrit, the brothers Sacred and Minotaur, Cerberus, Carbuncle and Alexander. Another entity, seemingly only able to partially enter this dimension, took on the blurred, multicolored shape of a woman. It was only after Squall felt her touch his mind that he recognized Eden.

"Squall?" Irvine asked quietly, "Did you call them?"

Squall shook his head, still staring, "No. They just…._came_."

Rinoa, leaning close to him, squeezed his hand and whispered, "What do they want?"

"I don't know. I guess I should ask." Squall answered softly, stepping away from Rinoa and walking slowly toward Bahamut.

It was hard to believe that there were several hundred other people besides him, staring in shock at the tableau before them. It was as though all of the guests were holding their breaths, waiting to see what would happen. The silence was eerie.

As he walked toward the dragon, Rinoa bit her lip and tried not to panic. Bahamut was Squall's guardian, and she didn't think he'd _hurt_ him, but _still_… he was a _dragon_. A very large, steel blue and scarlet one that could roast a behemoth like it was a steak on the barbeque.

"Bahamut. Why are you all here?" Squall asked, gazing up at the great dragon.

The Guardian lowered his head, nudging it against Squall in a rare gesture of affection, and answered, _WE ARE WAITING._

"For what?" Squall asked him.

_FOR THE GREATEST AMONG US,_ Bahamut stated.

"The greatest? Who is that? And why?" Squall asked, and Bahamut growled in response, smoke drifting from his nostrils.

_PATIENCE LION-HEART. ANSWERS WILL COME._ With that response, Squall gazed around at the other Guardians, and they all nodded. Shiva, his favorite, smiled sweetly, icy tears freezing on her cheeks.

_We come to rejoice with you, master._ She told him. Suddenly light gathered and began to sparkle in a cleared spot on the quad. Those Guardians nearest it drew back to give whatever it was room.

The light grew stronger, then blinding. Squall had to close his eyes, until he heard what sounded like a quiet thunderclap and the light went out. Opening his eyes, he stared at the entity that had just arrived. The greatest of them all; the most powerful Guardian in existence.

The great, lion-like creature stood calmly in the quad and focused its violet eyes upon Squall. Slowly, deliberately, it approached Squall, then dropped to one knee.

"Griever?" Squall asked, wondering. The creature growled softly in response, nodding.

Then, in a voice like quiet thunder, it spoke directly to Squall's mind, _"The circle is nearly complete. Knight and Sorceress are one. Now, it only remains for the bond to be sealed."_

Looking past Squall to Rinoa, the creature then said, _"Sorceress. Step forward."_

Rinoa walked toward them, ignoring the gasps of the bridesmaids and Irvine's urgent whisper telling her to wait. Upon reaching them, she instinctively took Squall's hand, and he squeezed hers reassuringly.

_"Extend your joined hands to me."_ Griever commanded. As if in a dream, they did as the Guardian had ordered. Rumbling deep in its throat, Griever leaned forward and touched its muzzle to their hands, kissing them. Immediately, Rinoa felt something…. _change_. A shift in their bond, as if something had been…cemented into place… unbreakable.

"Squall?" She whispered, frightened.

"I feel it too. Griever? What…?" He began.

The Guardian stood and answered, _"It is completed, the bond is sealed. Knight to Sorceress to Guardian; once three, now one. Call upon me at need, and I shall answer."_

_"Both of us?"_ Squall asked.

_"Yes."_ Griever answered. Then it spread its wings and sprang aloft with a triumphant roar. The onlookers cried out and some screamed as the Guardian climbed higher, the downdraft from its mighty wing strokes kicking up dust and chaff. Then it simply winked out of existence.

Then Bahamut spread his wings, echoing Griever's roar with one of his own, telling Squall, _AT LAST! WE HAVE WAITED MILLENNIA FOR A TRUE SORCERESS AND KNIGHT TO COMMAND US. THE BOND YOU SHARE IS A RARE ONE; VERY FEW SORCERESS-KNIGHT PAIRS HAVE HAD IT. IT SPEAKS OF GREAT THINGS TO COME._

Before Squall could ask Bahamut what he meant, he too sprang aloft and disappeared. One by one, the other Guardians faded or winked out of sight until only Shiva remained. More diamond tears had appeared upon her cheeks, and she simply smiled at the both of them before she too finally retreated back to her dimension.

"Do you have any idea…"Rinoa began, and Squall shook his head.

"No more than you. Come on, let's go back before our guests all have heart attacks." Squall said, a half-smile quirking his lips.

They returned to the altar and the white-faced magistrate and awestruck groomsmen and bridesmaids, hand in hand. He stared at them for a moment before shaking himself and clearing his throat.

"Ah…" He began tentatively, then continued more confidently, "May I present to you, Mr. And Mrs. Squall Leonhart!"

Squall exchanged a smile with Rinoa and they ran down the aisle hand in hand while the guests stood and cheered.

************************************************************************************************************************

The reception, held in the Grand Ballroom immediately after the wedding, was easily as classy an affair as any that had been held there in recent memory. The bulk of the flowers ordered for the wedding decorated the ballroom, the arrangements scattered artfully around the room.

Squall and Rinoa stood in the receiving line with both of their fathers, shaking hands and greeting all of the guests, thanking them for coming. Included in those greetings were the invited media reps, which thankfully had remained respectful of the occasion and the guests. For the most part, anyway; one of them did offer Squall an astounding sum for an exclusive interview.

He simply stared at the man, dumbstruck. Rinoa however, had sensed beneath the shock the beginnings of anger and had coolly told the reporter that his timing had been unfortunate and politely refused. She hoped that she'd managed to defuse what could have potentially been an explosive situation. While Squall was not quick-tempered, once something got a slow burn started, it could take awhile for it to cool down. And once roused, his ire could be dangerous.

Fortunately, there were plenty of things to distract him from that minor hiccup, and Rinoa breathed a sigh of relief as she felt Squall's simmering rage subside.

One of those things was the absolutely astounding number of gifts that sat on a long table near the entrance of the ballroom.

As they walked by it, they paused, studying the packages and gift bags, with Squall commenting, "Wonder how many toasters, coffee makers and irons we'll end up with."

Rinoa laughed, "There shouldn't be too many, I registered us with a couple of major department stores, so we shouldn't have any duplications."

Squall snorted and rolled his eyes, grumbling, "Great. More crap to cram into our apartment. If we get any more _stuff_, we're gonna have to get a bigger place."

"Oh, stop, you grouch! You love it and you know it!" Rinoa accused, playfully poking him in the side and prompting him to flinch. Then she slid her arms around him and leaned into him.

"I'll never admit it and you can't make me." Squall said, giving her an exaggeratedly stubborn look.

"Yes I can." Rinoa smiled.

"No, you can't." Squall shook his head, smiling back and slowly leaning his head closer to hers.

"Can." Rinoa said, voice getting softer.

"Can't." Squall said softly, lips brushing hers. He tightened his arms around her and deepened the kiss, holding her close and kissing her so thoroughly that they were both breathless.

Pulling back, they smiled at each other, and then Rinoa said, "We have a cake to cut." Then she took his hand and they headed for the table where their wedding cake sat.

"Wow," he commented, staring at it. "That is a very large cake."

"Yeah," Rinoa agreed, "I didn't think it was going to be _this_ big…"

Irvine, who was standing nearby, overheard her comment and laughed, "Hey Rinoa, you're supposed to say that _later_!" Rinoa laughed and Squall rolled his eyes.

The cake was indeed huge. A towering confection of white frosting decorated with incredibly lifelike flowers, leaves and fruits made entirely of sugar, it dwarfed the table that it sat upon. It was actually quite beautiful, and it seemed a shame to destroy it by cutting into it. Squall privately thought the entire reception, the cake cutting and all of that stuff to be utter nonsense, but he went along with it, considering it part of the process. So he schooled himself to patience until he could steal Rinoa away and actually get to the _fun_ part.

In the meantime however, he had to put up with the incredibly annoying emcee that went along with the band Rinoa had hired. He really should have paid closer attention to that part. The orchestra he didn't mind, he'd rather liked that, and wouldn't have minded it playing at their reception as well. But Rinoa had added a regular band to it, with a lead singer/emcee that was apparently supposed to keep things moving along so people wouldn't get bored.

Whatever. Personally, Squall hoped they _did_ get bored and start leaving. Soon. As soon as Garden arrived back at Balamb at any rate.

_"The emcee's getting on your nerves, isn't he?"_ Rinoa sent, sympathetically.

_"Afraid so."_ Squall responded ruefully.

_"Sorry about that. I truly didn't think he'd be this irritating when I hired him."_ Rinoa apologized.

Squall simply hugged her, kissing her on the temple. He could handle a minor irritant like the emcee.

"Okay folks! They're getting ready to cut the cake! Gather round everyone!" The emcee gushed while Squall and Rinoa took their positions behind it.

Studying it critically, Squall suddenly had a mad urge to reach for his gunblade instead of the knife that sat in front of it, then realized in disappointment that he'd left it at home. He supposed it was better that way. Nobody in his or her right mind brings a meter-long weapon to a wedding, although he _had_ been tempted to do exactly that. His gunblade was such a part of him that he literally felt naked, exposed, without it.

Too bad he hadn't, he thought in amusement, it would have been funny as hell to see the reactions of the guests as he pulled the gunblade out to cut the cake.

_"What's so funny?"_ Rinoa asked as he picked up the ribbon adorned knife.

_"I was picturing everyone's reaction if I'd brought out my gunblade to cut the cake."_ Squall smiled, carefully cutting into the bottom most layer of the cake.

Rinoa laughed softly, covering her lips with a hand, thinking, _"You're incorrigible!"_

_"See what you're stuck with?"_ Squall sent, smiling at her.

"Now, you _will_ be a gentleman and _not_ shove that in my face, right?" Rinoa asked.

"Of course. And I'll expect you to likewise be a lady and offer me the same courtesy." Squall said, taking his piece and lifting it to her lips for her to take a bite. True to his word, he simply held the piece of cake while Rinoa took a small bite, though he _did_ angle it just enough for a bit of frosting to touch the tip of her nose. He hid a smile at the dot of white on the end of her nose that resulted from it.

Rinoa likewise held her piece steady while Squall bent down warily, and then carefully took a bite. It was a good cake, he decided, though he wasn't a fan of the overly sweet icing. As he straightened up, he caught Rinoa scooping up a finger full of the icing. Before she could wipe any of it onto his face, as she no doubt intended, Squall caught her wrist, shaking his head slowly.

_"Busted."_ He thought, trying not to smile at Rinoa's mischievous laugh. Then, to her surprise, his lips closed over the finger containing the icing, sucking it off with a wicked glint in his eyes meant just for her. Letting her wrist go, he then gently wiped off the bit of frosting on the end of her nose, wiped it onto her lips, and kissed her.

Rinoa nearly swooned, and her knees went weak as she gave herself up to the pressure of his lips and the sweetness that the confection gave his kiss. Onlookers clapped and laughed, with some girls sighing at the blatantly romantic sight.

A sip of champagne cut the cloying sweetness, and Squall was ready to dive in for another kiss when the emcee decided it was time for Squall and Rinoa's first dance as a married couple. So he contented himself with a quick peck as they headed out to the center of the ballroom.

"I think I may actually _like_ this part," Squall commented as he took Rinoa into his arms and the music started playing.

"Really? So I've finally convinced you that dancing is fun, huh?" Rinoa asked, smiling.

"Dancing with _you_ is." Squall said, and then started guiding Rinoa skillfully through the steps of a waltz, perfectly in time with the orchestral arrangement of a song that sounded vaguely familiar.

"What song is this?" Squall asked, as they danced.

Rinoa listened for a moment and answered softly, "Eyes on Me. They did an orchestral arrangement of it."

"Really? It's…I like it." Squall said, then concentrated on dancing with Rinoa.

************************************************************************************************************************

Laguna watched wistfully, admiring the assured grace that his son displayed as he guided his new wife around the dance floor. So far, the ceremony and reception was turning out wonderfully, and Laguna couldn't be happier or more proud.

"He really can dance, can't he?" Kiros said, smiling.

"Yes, he can." Laguna said.

"Lucky he didn't inherit your clumsiness. That would have been a disaster." Kiros smirked.

"I'm not that bad, Kiros. I can dance pretty well myself if I don't over think it." Laguna said mildly. He was too happy to be annoyed with his friend's barbed comments. He knew they were all in fun anyway.

"True enough, although I have noticed that the prettier your partner, the clumsier you are." Kiros observed.

"Well, that's always been true." Laguna shrugged taking a sip of champagne. Kiros chuckled in response, sipping at his own champagne.

"Hell of a ceremony. I don't know if your son planned that display after their kiss, but I think he trumped the fireworks you set up for later." Kiros said.

Laguna shook his head, frowning slightly, "He didn't, actually. He said that all the Guardians just came of their own volition. I didn't think they could do that."

Kiros shrugged, "There's a lot that even the SeeDs don't know about them, and they use them more than we do. I guess we just got proof that they're capable of independent action under certain circumstances."

"I guess." Laguna watched as Squall continued dancing with Rinoa, smiling slightly as other couples gradually joined them until the dance floor was filled.

"So, how long do you think it'll be before you're a grandfather?" Kiros asked, smiling at Laguna.

Laguna sighed, answering; "Well, to hear Edea, Dr. Odine and anyone else who ever knew anything about sorceresses tell it, never."

Kiros frowned, "why? Rinoa's young and more importantly, she hasn't been a sorceress very long. It _could_ happen."

"Maybe," Laguna said doubtfully. He truly hoped that he was wrong and his son _did_ manage to give him grandchildren. Of course, that was ultimately up to Squall and Rinoa.

Laguna surreptitiously checked his watch. Garden should just about be back to Balamb, and as soon as it returned to land, the fireworks display he'd set up should start. Even though the Guardians had more or less upstaged it, Laguna still thought it would be cool to have it. He'd always liked fireworks, and felt the occasion warranted such a celebration.

"You going to dance with her?" Kiros asked, indicating Rinoa.

"Yeah, after the fireworks." Laguna said.

Looking around, he spotted Ellone watching the couples dancing and added, "I'm going to dance with Ellone first." Finishing his glass of champagne, he put it on a tray carried by a passing waiter and headed over to Ellone.

"Care to dance?" He asked, holding his hand out to her. Nodding, she took his hand and they walked out to the dance floor and started to dance. Squall caught sight of them and smiled briefly in greeting before turning his attention back to Rinoa.

"Having fun Elle?" Laguna asked as they glided around the ballroom. He caught sight of other couples dancing, some of which surprised him. Irvine and Selphie looked cozy together, but Seifer and Fujin? Laguna hadn't been aware that they were an item. He had to admit; they made an attractive couple, with Seifer in a tux and Fujin in the lovely bridesmaid's dress she was wearing. The way they danced so closely together at the edge of the ballroom, with Fujin's eye closed and her head resting against Seifer's broad chest, made him wonder if another wedding at some point might feature these two.

Ellone nodded answering, "It's been lovely so far, Uncle Laguna. The ceremony itself was quite impressive."

Laguna chuckled, "That's all I hear."

Ellone laughed with him, and then sighed, saying softly, "I've never seen Squall so happy."

Pulling Ellone close in a hug, Laguna agreed, "Neither have I. That alone is enough for me to love Rinoa."

A subtle, barely felt vibration signaled that Garden had made landfall in Balamb. Only those who were used to its movements were aware of it, to everyone else it was virtually imperceptible. Laguna only noticed it when he saw Squall, alert as always, stop for a moment and glance toward the doors leading to the balcony before resuming his dance with Rinoa. That was when Laguna felt the cessation of movement.

It was not many moments later that the fireworks exploded in the sky above Balamb Garden in multicolored showers of sparks.

Startled by the unexpected display, Squall stared skyward. He felt Rinoa slip her arms around his waist and pull close, and he reciprocated her hug, still watching the flowers of fire blooming in the sky.

_"Now, THIS seems awfully familiar…"_ Squall thought, not bothering to hide how entranced he was by the fireworks and the memories that they brought with them.

_"Yes. Only THIS time, I'm not leaving you."_ Rinoa thought, gazing up at him.

_"Never?"_ Squall asked.

_"Never."_ She confirmed.

Returning his attention to her, Squall smiled slightly, then said, "This reminds me of a question I wanted to ask you that night, but you left before I could."

"Oh? What question is that?" Rinoa responded, smiling.

Squall's smile widened and he asked, "What's your name?"

Rinoa laughed, eyes shining, "Rinoa Julia Heartilly Caraway Leonhart."

Squall laughed along with her, "Wow. What a mouthful."

"Yeah, but I usually just go by Rinoa Leonhart." She replied.

Squall sobered and said softly, "I love it. My name's Squall Leonhart."

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Leonhart." Rinoa said.

"Likewise, Mrs. Leonhart." Squall replied, kissing her softly.

They stayed that way for several minutes, lost in each other, silhouetted against the fiery sky and the rising moon, until the song ended. Applause broke out from those watching, in appreciation of the music played and the fireworks display, as well as the young couple that had taken center stage that night.

Watching them, Laguna smiled softly to himself, thinking that he had more photographers to talk to about obtaining pictures of his son and Rinoa. They certainly had been snapping away with abandon, so there would be plenty of photos to choose from. Whether or not Squall wanted it, Laguna was sure that Rinoa would at least want a scrapbook of photos from the wedding. With some of the best professional photographers in the business circulating throughout the ceremony and reception, it would be almost impossible _not_ to find a good selection of photos. The compilation of those photos into a scrapbook would be Ellone's gift to them both.

Giving Ellone a kiss on the cheek, Laguna said, "Ok, my turn to dance with my daughter-in-law." She smiled at him as he left her to approach Squall and Rinoa.

Clapping his hand on Squall's shoulder, Laguna said, "Step aside son, I'm going to borrow your wife for a little bit. Its my turn to dance with her."

Squall snorted in response and said, "You'll have to wait your turn behind the General."

Laguna blinked and chuckled as General Caraway smoothly claimed his daughter and led her away to dance with her.

"Well, I guess I'll have to wait then." Laguna said, following Squall as they left the floor and claimed a glass of champagne each.

Taking a sip, Laguna asked, "What have you got planned for your honeymoon? You never mentioned anything about it."

Squall smiled slightly, answering, "It's a surprise."

"When are you planning on leaving?" Laguna asked.

"As soon as I can get out of here." Squall said with a smirk. Laguna laughed softly.

"Can't say I blame you." Then he sighed and added, "Everything's turned out wonderfully. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful wedding."

"Well, I can't claim any credit for it. I just pay the bills." Squall commented. Laguna laughed.

"Then I'm even _more_ impressed." He said. Ellone rejoined them then, slipping her arm through Squall's and smiling up at him.

"Care to dance with me, brother?" She asked.

"Sure." Squall answered, leading her out to the dance floor.

_I'm so happy for you both,_ Ellone said to him privately, adding, _and Rinoa's right, you are a very good dancer when you make up your mind to be one._

Squall laughed softly, _sharing secrets were you?_

_That's what we girls do. Don't worry, it wasn't anything overly personal._ Ellone reassured him when she sensed his discomfort.

Catching sight of Laguna finally getting his turn to dance with Rinoa, Squall sighed.

_You're ready to leave, aren't you?_ Ellone asked him.

_Yeah. I've had about as much fun and socializing as I can handle._ He answered her.

_You'll get your chance to escape soon enough._ Ellone smiled at him. Squall chuckled.

"You know, when you smile and laugh like that, you remind me of when you were little, before I had to leave. You always had the sweetest smile. I'm glad I get to see it more often." Ellone said, smiling up at him.

Kissing her forehead, Squall responded, "Thanks sis." The song ended and Squall escorted Ellone off the dance floor, catching up with Laguna and Rinoa.

Slipping an arm around her waist, Squall asked, "You ready to leave Rin?"

_"Not really, but you are, aren't you?"_ Rinoa thought at him, then smiled and said, "Ready when you are."

Squall could tell she had been having fun, dancing and circulating throughout the room. Squall's tolerance for that sort of thing however was limited. He could only put up with it for so long before he simply _had_ to get out. He was getting better at dealing with social situations like this, but he rarely enjoyed them.

He didn't want any fanfare or anything like that when they were leaving, as far as Squall was concerned, everyone else there could just continue the party without he and Rinoa.

As he turned to leave with her, Laguna stopped him briefly and gave both him and Rinoa a hug, saying, "You two have a good night and a safe trip to wherever you're going."

Squall nodded, and Rinoa assured him, "we will." They then started to leave. _Started_ to. It sounded much easier than it actually was, for everyone that they came across seemed to want to either wish them well or talk to them. While even Squall appreciated their good wishes, it certainly slowed their progress toward the exit and frustrated him.

With his friends, who understood him, a simple "good night" was enough. It was those people who did _not_ know Rinoa or him well and wanted to that were the most tiresome. Rinoa was truly skilled at handling those types of people without resorting to rudeness or silence, which was Squall's normal mechanism. That and hostility, which he managed _not_ to give in to, despite the overwhelming temptation to do exactly that when yet _another_ media representative waylaid them as they made their way through the crowd.

Finally it became too much and Squall's mounting frustration prompted him to drastic action. The main doors to the Grand Ballroom weren't the only points of entrance or exit there, and Squall, having grown up at Balamb Garden, knew its nooks and crannies intimately.

Pulling Rinoa along behind him, he altered his direction, making his way toward the outer edge of the ballroom where the crowd had thinned.

"Squall? Where are we going? I thought we were leaving?" She asked, confused and beginning to stumble as the dress slowed her efforts to keep up with his longer strides.

"We are. Just not the way everyone _thinks_ we will." Squall answered, finding a shadowed alcove and a nearly invisible access door behind a drapery. Quickly typing in his master code, the door opened and Squall pulled Rinoa inside.

Rinoa got a brief impression of a corridor with dim lights, pipes, wire conduits, circuit boxes and access panels running the length of it before Squall pressed her against the wall and kissed her passionately.

"I've been dying to do this all night," he whispered before continuing to kiss her breathless. Rinoa moaned softly, feeling his warm body against hers and responding to his ardent attention. Kissing up her neck lightly, Squall pulled Rinoa close and held her tightly for a moment.

"I do hope that we're not starting the honeymoon _here_…. not that I'm opposed, you know, but I _did_ think you had something else planned." Rinoa murmured. The passion bubbling beneath the surface hadn't yet been allowed free rein, but it was heating up and while their current location was certainly _different_, Rinoa did think it a rather odd place to consummate their marriage.

Squall laughed softly, "We're not. I just needed a minute alone with you." Reclaiming her hand, he led her down the corridor.

"Where are we anyway?" Rinoa asked, holding up her skirts with one hand to avoid tripping on the trailing hems.

"Maintenance tunnel. They're all over the place here." Squall said.

"And you know them all by heart, right?" Rinoa asked.

Squall shook his head, "not _all_ of them. But most of them. After I had to go down into the sub-basement to activate Garden's engines and get it moving, I researched the original blueprints and found them. Our maintenance personnel know about the tunnels of course, but for the most part, nobody else does."

"And you needed to know about them why?" Rinoa asked, puzzled.

"Curiosity mostly. Plus I just felt I needed to know this place top to bottom. These tunnels could be an escape route in an emergency, they could be used to move around Garden undetected, and it never hurts to know where the circuit breakers are." Squall explained.

"I see." Rinoa said, and concentrated on keeping pace with Squall and not tripping on her dress, with only partial success. A sharp ripping sound and an exclamation of dismay offered an explanation for Rinoa's sudden stop.

"Oh, no! My dress! Squall, how much longer are we going to be wandering around in here?" Rinoa asked plaintively, examining the rent in the hem of her dress sadly.

"Not long. We're almost to the exit I want." Squall reassured her, then frowned, pursing his lips in thought. Looking up and around, making sure he had enough space to do what he needed to do, Squall nodded his head silently, coming to a decision.

Dropping to one knee, Squall examined the tear and said, "Its not bad. We can take it into Balamb when we get back and have the tailor fix it, clean it and pack it up for you."

Then he stood, saying, "Meanwhile, stumbling about down here in that dress just won't do."

Rinoa folded her arms, frowning at him, and said, "Well, I'm not going to take it off _here_."

Squall chuckled, "I wasn't going to ask you to, but now that you mention it…"

"Squall," Rinoa said in a warning tone, and he laughed.

"I'm kidding. I had something else in mind." He assured her.

"What?" Rinoa asked curiously. Then screamed in surprise as Squall bent down and picked her up, throwing her over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Then he continued down the corridor at a faster pace.

"Squall!" She protested, trying to shift her position from its current head down attitude. While she rather liked Squall's backside, she found she really didn't care to get as up close and personal with it as she currently was.

"What?" He asked, grunting as she squirmed and threw him off balance.

_"Rinoa honey, please don't wiggle, I don't want to drop you."_ He sent.

_"Well I don't feel like staring at your ASS!"_ She sent back.

Squall chuckled quietly and gently patted her derriere, which was currently on his left shoulder, saying, "Sorry sweetheart, this was the only way I could carry you through here without hurting you. The corridor is too narrow for me to carry you in my arms."

"OOF! What about a fireman's carry?" Rinoa managed, but it was hard to talk with Squall's shoulder digging into her solar plexus.

"Can't do it with the dress." He answered. Rinoa's response was a frustrated growl and a pinch on the right cheek of Squall's behind.

"Hey now, two can play that game." Squall warned her, patting her backside again, then gently pinching it. Fortunately, they reached the door Squall was looking for and he punched in the master code again and opened it.

As planned, Garden had been piloted to end up right next to where the Ragnarok was currently parked, so Squall had a very short walk across the plain toward the airship. He took a deep breath as he did, appreciating the fragrant, fresh air of midsummer. The moon shone full and bright, illuminating Squall's short walk.

"I think you can put me down now," Rinoa said.

"We're almost there." Squall responded. Rinoa sighed.

Upon reaching the boarding ramp, Squall strode up and palmed the door open. It was only after he had entered the Ragnarok that he finally set Rinoa down.

Pulling her into his arms, Squall kissed her gently and held her for a moment before releasing her and approaching the controls of the ship.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"Why don't you sit down and strap in?" Squall suggested, doing the same thing himself. Rinoa followed suit, taking the co-pilot's chair.

Rinoa watched, fascinated as Squall's fingers danced nimbly over the control panel, closing the outer doors and retracting the boarding ramp, powering up the engines and preparing to take off.

"So, are you going to answer my question?" Rinoa prodded.

Smiling impishly at her, Squall answered, "No."

"Why?" Rinoa asked.

"Because it's a surprise. One that I hope you'll like." Squall said. The ship's engines grew louder as it began to lift off.

Rinoa smiled over at him, saying, "I can't wait."

"Neither can I." Squall said. Once the ship had reached the desired altitude, Squall engaged the main thrusters and the ship took off.


	16. Alabaster Wings

The Ragnarok soared through the night sky, gaining altitude. Rinoa couldn't hide both a sense of anticipation and exhilaration as the ship increased in speed and punched through a cloud bank. The easy confidence that Squall displayed in handling the airship while traveling at positively astounding speeds had Rinoa marveling.

She remembered the first time he'd flown, or _attempted_ to fly, the Ragnarok and how nervous he'd appeared. When the Airstation crew had told them that they could guide the ship down by remote it had relieved them both. She remembered the heavy sigh he'd let go of as the ship started its descent.

Now, he handled the aircraft with impressive skill, directing it to an almost perpendicular angle of ascent, then engaging the powerful boosters. Rinoa gasped as the accelerative forces pushed her back into her seat.

"Squall? What are you doing?" She managed, watching him.

"Don't worry." He reassured her, keeping his focus on the controls of the ship.

The Ragnarok performed a roll and majestically roared its way out of the atmospheric envelope. The engine roar ceased, and the pressure pushing Rinoa back against her seat went with it. Squall punched some buttons on the control panel, then sat back in the sudden silence, sighing.

Rinoa took her attention off her husband for a moment, looked out at the vista framed by the canopy of the airship above them, and gasped.

"We're…in _space_." She said, awed. The blue planet they had just left, illuminated by the sun behind them, dominated the view.

"Yes." Squall said softly, watching her.

"Why?" She asked, wondering. Never in her entire life would she have expected he'd do _this_ for their honeymoon. If she'd had to guess, she would have bet on their flower field in Centra. Of course, with Squall, even linked to his mind, predicting what he'd do was nearly impossible.

"Don't you remember?" He asked her. She smiled slowly as he shared his memories of their first time aboard the ship.

"I remember doing _this_…" She said, unbuckling her seat belt and floating up from the copilot's seat. The voluminous skirts of her wedding dress drifted up, trailing around her like a cloud, giving a tantalizing glimpse of white lace here and smooth skin there before obscuring it again.

Squall released his restraints, getting ready to launch himself upward to catch her, as he'd done once before, when she pushed off from the back of her seat and soared toward him. He caught her outstretched hand and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

"And _I_ remember doing _this_." He said. She snuggled into him and they sat together in silence for a moment, simply absorbing the spectacular view. They floated a few inches off Squall's pilot seat, the long, trailing skirts of Rinoa's wedding dress drifting about them. Squall hadn't yet engaged the gravity generator, and was debating with himself whether he actually wanted it on or not.

Certain _physiological_ aspects of weightlessness, which hadn't occurred to him at first, made him think that when it came right down to it, engaging the gravity generators before engaging in anything _else_ might be a good idea, all things considered.

But he couldn't deny the appeal of floating on air with his wife in his arms.

_His wife_. A completely new concept that he adapting to faster than he thought he would.

"This is so beautiful," She whispered.

"Yes." Squall said, looking down at her. Caressing her cheek with one hand, he tilted her head up a little, brushing the corner of her lips gently with his thumb before lowering his head and kissing her.

Really, _really_ kissing her. Losing himself in the warm silk of her lips, tasting champagne, sugar and sunshine, molding her body to his and holding her close. Feeling her mind entwined with his as her hands tangled through his hair. So absorbed with each other were they that they did not notice their drifting.

Nor did they notice Rinoa's derriere fetching up against the control panel and activating the internal cameras.

************************************************************************************************************************

"Hey, there's an incoming transmission." An Esthar Airstation technician said, indicating the flashing indicator on the viewscreen.

"Who's it from?" Said his co-worker.

"Hell if I know. No one bothered to hail us." Said the first technician.

"Well, there are only two possibilities. Either the Ragnarok or the Valkyrie. So pick up and see if it's the President, or his son." The second tech reasoned.

"Why would either of them be calling us? Wasn't Commander Leonhart supposed to be getting married today?" The first tech asked.

"Maybe it's the Valkyrie then, heading back. They've got to be done by now." The second tech said.

The first technician nodded, picking up the transmission.

Then both technicians stared in surprise at what appeared on the viewscreen.

"Uh, that's…not President Loire." The first tech said slowly.

"No. That's Commander Leonhart. And his new wife. And… we'd better tell them to turn off the internal cameras…. before things go too much farther." The second tech said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…." The first tech replied, keying the commlink.

"Esthar Airstation to Ragnarok. Commander Leonhart, first of all, congratulations on your marriage, I hope you enjoy your honeymoon. Second of all, you _may_ want to turn off the internal cameras if you intend to honeymoon on the Ragnarok." The technician said.

The second technician chuckled as the couple on screen continued kissing, appearing oblivious to the hail from the first technician. The first tech exchanged a helplessly amused glance with the second tech, and tried again.

"Commander Leonhart?" He asked.

Slowly, Squall opened his eyes and focused on the camera. Then he coolly reached out and turned it off.

The image winked off, leaving the viewscreen blank. Both technicians laughed.

"Looks like its going to be a hell of a honeymoon." The first tech said, grinning.

The second tech nodded, commenting, "You gotta give the commander props. He's already taken his wife into orbit and they haven't even gotten their clothes off yet!"

************************************************************************************************************************

"What was that?" Rinoa murmured, her lips brushing Squall's.

"Airstation. Camera got turned on." Squall answered huskily, trailing kisses along her cheek and down her neck.

Rinoa laughed softly, "really?"

"Yeah," Squall echoed her laughter. "Your butt must have bumped it. I guess I'd better turn the gravity generator on so it doesn't happen again." Suiting action to words, he reached over to the control panel, activated the generator, and they gradually drifted down. Unfortunately, while weightless, they had drifted just enough that when the gravity came back on, it turned out that Squall was only half on the pilot's seat.

The combination of Rinoa's weight settling to his lap while he had half of the support beneath him than he expected overbalanced him and sent them both tumbling to the deck.

They ended up with Squall lying flat on his back blinking in surprise while Rinoa lay on top of him, laughing hysterically.

"Ow." He said. Then he grinned crookedly and started laughing along with her, hugging her close.

She sobered, wiping mirthful tears from her eyes and gave him a contritely concerned look, asking, "are you okay? I wasn't laughing at you, it was just so funny that happened at such a romantic moment." She reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from his eyes, smiling at his silent thanks as she did.

"I'm fine. Mostly. Might have a few bumps and bruises later but nothing serious." He reassured her.

"Good, because it would really suck if you had a concussion on our honeymoon. I have plans for _you_." Rinoa said, tapping the end of his nose playfully.

"And what would those plans be?" He asked her, smoothing his hands up her silk-covered back.

"Forcing you to watch me model a dozen or so pieces of sexy lingerie before having my wicked way with you." She smiled impishly.

"Really?" He asked, eyes heating up. That was all the warning she got before he suddenly rolled and shifted their positions until he was on top of her, gazing hungrily into her eyes.

"Not if I have _my_ way with you _first_," he whispered hotly before kissing her deeply, molding himself to her body. Kissing his way down her neck, he nibbled at her shoulder and caressed one of her breasts through the fabric of her dress.

"Okay. This has to come off. Now." Squall growled, tugging at it. He sat back amid the frothy white tangle of silk and tulle that made up the dress to give Rinoa room to sit up.

"You'll have to help me with it," she said, indicating the row of tiny buttons going down her back. He obligingly moved off the skirts and they both stood, then he moved around to Rinoa's back, working at the tiny buttons.

"You know, a zipper would have been easier," he commented.

"The buttons looked nicer." She said, shivering as his fingers brushed her skin. Every sense seemed heightened, anticipation sharpening everything Rinoa saw and felt. She caught her breath as Squall lightly traced his finger down her spine over the white lace that covered it, after the last button had been undone, and he smiled at her response.

Leaning forward, Squall skimmed his lips along the side of her neck, nipping lightly. Slipping his hands beneath the loosened fabric of the bodice, he pushed it out and down, helping Rinoa shimmy out of the dress.

As she did, more white lace was revealed and Squall asked her, "What are you wearing?"

Rinoa gathered up the dress and laid it over the back of the pilot's chair, then turned around and struck a pose. Whatever it was she was wearing, it did wonderful things to Rinoa's body and Squall couldn't help staring.

He'd never seen Rinoa wear anything like it, and found he liked it. A lot.

"It's a strapless bustier and stocking set. Nice, huh?" Rinoa said, smoothing her hands down her sides and smiling at Squall's reaction. The bustier had a push-up bra that emphasized Rinoa's cleavage, light boning along the sides and a built in suspender belt for the white ribbon-topped silk stockings that Rinoa wore. The tiny white bikini panties that she wore along with it seemed almost an afterthought.

_"Very. That's the sexiest thing I've ever seen."_ Squall thought.

Rinoa approached him then, smoothing her hands up the breast of his uniform tunic and echoing his earlier statement, "Now its your turn. _This_ has to come off too."

"Right." Squall said, starting to undo the fastenings on the tunic.

Rinoa gently brushed his hands aside, and said, "Let me." Her deft fingers made short work of the fastenings and the tunic was removed in short order. She laid it on top of her dress, then turned to the white shirt beneath, unbuttoning it while pulling it out of his pants.

Once the shirt was opened, Rinoa indulged herself with running her hands up and down Squall's smoothly muscled chest. Kissing it just above his pendant, she slid her hands around his waist and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, kissing the top of her head.

_"Should we go to bed?"_ He silently asked her.

Rinoa shook her head, _"I like the view from here…although we might do well to avoid the control panel…"_

_"Good idea. Don't want to broadcast THAT…"_ he responded, moving over to the co-pilot's seat and pulling Rinoa with him.

And finally, the simmering heat that both had felt in the back of their minds and hearts the entire day was allowed full rein. Linked mind to mind, heart to heart, they allowed passion to take control.

Squall's shirt was removed, the remainder of his clothing following in short order. They ended up on the co pilot's seat, lips fused together, deaf and blind to anything but each other.

_"I've been waiting all DAY for this…"_ Squall thought, leaning back against the seat as Rinoa straddled him, hands roaming her lace-covered curves.

_"So have I."_ Rinoa responded, allowing her hands to roam as well, making Squall gasp and groan as she began fondling him.

Squall found himself frustrated by the lingerie that Rinoa was wearing, and began helping her to remove it, craving the feel of her skin against his. While it was beautiful and enticing to look at, when it got right down to it, the damn thing just got in the way.

Rinoa smiled as she felt from Squall how much he loved the silken feel of her skin, its warm scent, and its luminous glow. She responded in kind, letting him know with her lips, her hands and her mind how she loved his strength, and how his solid warmth surrounded and filled her as he took her into his arms and they became one.

He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her close as he skimmed his lips down her neck, tickling the sensitive skin there, working his way down to her chest. Rinoa gripped the back of the seat, using the added leverage to help her begin to move, causing Squall to lose his breath momentarily and move his hands down to her hips, helping her along.

He felt her teeth nip the side of his neck and he dragged in a ragged breath, his heart pounding, Rinoa moving in time with his beating heart. The tension in both of their bodies built and their movements increased in pace and intensity. Then their passion rose and drowned them both, sweeping them away as Rinoa shuddered with a throaty cry, trembling as Squall thrust deeply once, twice, and he too finally let go with a low growl.

They both simply collapsed together in its aftermath, sweat slicked and panting. Squall leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, waiting for his heart and breath to catch up with him. Rinoa snuggled against him, head pillowed on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, feeling her warmth, her breath, her heart and everything that she felt and thought. Just _feeling_…. and basking in it.

He knew her eyes were burning bright for him, he saw the golden fire flare in her eyes as she'd climaxed, and he felt more than a little smug at that. He smiled gently as he caught Rinoa's amusement at that.

_"Yeah, I feel pretty damn studly, being able to do that."_ He thought with a quiet chuckle. Rinoa shivered as the sweat from their exertions dried and cooled her, then she shifted to curl up on Squall's lap. It was always an odd sensation for him when they disengaged physically, becoming separate again. Their mindlink remained however, thoughts and emotions flowing easily between them now.

Squall reached over to the pilot's seat and retrieved his uniform coat, draping it over her.

"Better?" He asked quietly.

Rinoa nodded, and they both retreated into silence, gazing at the planet that dominated the view from their vantage.

_"This is just completely amazing…and completely wonderful. I think we can both say with perfect honesty that NOBODY has ever done this before."_ Rinoa thought, sending a surge of both love and joy so intense and rich that Squall closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking it in.

"The first time we were here, neither of us knew if we'd even survive. Then it turned out that we were going to be all right, but you were a sorceress and they were going to take you away and freeze you…. I had just acknowledged to myself that I was in love with you, and you were going to be taken away from me. I didn't know what to do at first." Squall said quietly, tightening his arms around Rinoa, then slowly running a hand up and down her back.

Then he continued, "All I knew was that for the first time in my life, I felt _something_ for someone else. More intense than what I'd felt for Sis as a boy. And what I felt motivated me to take a suicidal leap into space on the off chance I'd catch you, with no guarantees that either of us would survive. I didn't know much about love, but I figured that if I was willing to do that, then _yeah_, I was in love with you."

"I'm glad you came after me, in space and in the sorceress memorial, even though I told you let me go. I didn't want you to fight for me, I didn't want you to get hurt or killed for me." Rinoa said, then smiled softly, adding, "I'm glad you didn't listen."

"Me too. But it was here on the Ragnarok that I decided that nothing else mattered to me but you. And since Ultimecia was your biggest threat, your greatest enemy, I decided that I would do everything in my power to eliminate her. So you wouldn't have to fear her possession again, and so nobody else would view you as a danger because of her." Squall kissed the top of her head softly, and then leaned his cheek against it, sighing.

_"I did it for you. All of it; I saved the world by accident."_ Squall admitted. Rinoa reached up and caressed his cheek, bringing his face to hers and kissing him.

_"It wasn't just for me Squall. It was also for your friends, for Ellone, for everyone you loved and cared about."_ Rinoa said.

_"Loving you gave me the most motivation."_ His mind whispered to hers.

Rinoa kissed him again, letting her hand drift down to caress his chest. He tightened his arms around her in response, hugging her.

"So that's why this is so special to you." Rinoa whispered. Squall nodded.

Focusing on the view again, Rinoa asked, "Can you tell what's down there?"

Squall gave her a puzzled look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you can see the continents and stuff, so can you tell where we are right now?" Rinoa asked.

Squall nodded and indicated a large mostly tan colored landmass that dominated their view of the planet, asking, "Can't you tell? That's Centra."

"Really?" She responded, then frowned, "Why hasn't it moved? We're in orbit, aren't we?"

Squall laughed softly, answering, "We are. We're in a geosynchronous orbit above Centra."

"Geo- what?" Rinoa asked.

"Geosynchronous. Means we're matching the orbital speed of the planet, so we're above the same geographic point below." Squall explained.

"Why?" Rinoa asked.

Squall shrugged, "No specific reason, really. Can't get any more private than here though."

"No, you can't." Rinoa smiled, then she yawned quietly.

"Tired?" Squall asked.

"A little. It's been a long day." She said.

"An eventful day." Squall responded, kissing her.

"And a wonderful wedding night. You were right, I love it…. and I love you." Rinoa said, kissing him back, running her hands back through his hair. Squall deepened the kiss, teasing her tongue with his, lightly caressing her breast as heat rose between them once again.

"I love you too," Squall murmured against her lips.

Patting her hip, he added, "Let's go to bed." Rinoa uncurled from his lap and got up, putting her arms through the sleeves of his uniform coat, hugging it around her slender frame.

Squall smiled, thinking, _"You look sexy as hell wearing that."_

Rinoa gave him a smoldering look and replied, _"And you just look sexy as hell. You aren't ready for bed at all, are you?"_ She smiled, seeing ample evidence of that as Squall stood.

_"I'm not ready to SLEEP, if that's what you mean."_ Squall smirked, putting an arm around her as they headed toward the stateroom they usually used. It had been the quarters for the original captain of the Ragnarok, and Squall had taken it over when he'd been given the task to defeat Ultimecia.

Technically, anyone who had command of the Ragnarok could use it as his or her quarters, but by unanimous, unspoken accord, it was left exclusively to Squall.

Considering where it was located, it was surprisingly generous in its proportions, only a little smaller than the apartment that they now shared at Balamb Garden. It even included a double-sized bunk large enough for the two of them.

Here and there were little, homey touches that Rinoa had added over time. A soft, brightly colored woven rug that she'd purchased in Dollet dominated the room. A built-in, glass-fronted shelving unit against the bulkhead held a beautifully carved wooden display stand, made in Timber, which supported Squall's first gunblade.

Other things, provided by Squall, gave the room a masculine feel; a soft-tanned mesmerize hide lay on the floor by the bed, while dragon fangs, curse spikes and other small, unusual or valuable items Squall had accumulated over time shared the shelving unit with his gunblade. A betrayal sword hung over the doorway. Squall's griever emblazoned gunblade case, holding Lionheart, leaned against the wall with both his and Rinoa's luggage sitting on the floor alongside it.

Rinoa dropped Squall's coat casually over the back of a chair that sat in front of the desk that sat against the wall opposite from the bed. On the desk sat Squall's laptop, currently closed.

"Nice of our friends to put our luggage on the Ragnarok for us." Rinoa commented, crawling onto the bed and stretching out, sighing.

"They even remembered my gunblade." Squall said, joining her on the bed, lying on his side facing her, propping his head on his fist.

Rinoa snorted, "Like you'll even _need_ it…"

Squall laughed softly, "They're SeeDs, and they didn't know where I was taking you. Of _course_ they'd make sure I had my weapon with me."

Rinoa reached out and caressed Squall's face, running her fingers back into his hair, saying softly, "Then they're good friends." Squall pulled her close, hugging her and lightly running his hand over her hair.

Frowning, he asked, "You know, your hair looked beautiful at the wedding, but don't you think you'd be more comfortable without all this stuff in it?" He carefully plucked one of the white roses out of Rinoa's hairstyle, examining it curiously and discovering that it was made from silk.

"Huh. Looked real." He commented.

"Real roses would have fallen apart long before the wedding began." Rinoa said, sitting up and beginning to unpin and deconstruct her hairdo. Squall watched her with interest as she systematically unraveled the complicated arrangement until her hair finally cascaded down to her shoulders in shining, ebony waves. She ran her fingers through the waves and shook them out.

Taking her hand, Squall pulled her back down to him and ran his fingers through her hair, kissing her and murmuring, "much better."

Rinoa caught her breath as he lightly ran his fingers down her body, leaving trails of fire in their wake before caressing one of her breasts, toying with the nipple. His lips closed over hers once more, in a hot, wet kiss before he trailed them down her neck. He nipped lightly, knowing how sensitive she was there and feeling the warm shiver up her spine echoed in his own.

Kissing her shoulder next, Squall murmured softly, "I have a confession to make."

Rinoa, already drowning in the sensations Squall was evoking, dragged in a shuddering breath and managed, "What?"

Moving down to her breasts, Squall kissed and sucked at them, teasing the nipples with his tongue and making Rinoa moan, closing her eyes and burying her hands in the warm silk of his hair.

Kissing her between her breasts, Squall said, "My original intention had been to make love to you with the gravity off. Sort of a fantasy of mine." He worked his way lower, kissing down the middle of Rinoa's body, tickling her with his warm breath and making her sigh with his warm kisses.

"Why didn't you?" Rinoa whispered, trembling as his lips found her navel.

"Certain…realities…. of weightlessness made me rethink it. I didn't want to turn in a poor performance on my wedding night, of all nights." Squall smiled wickedly as he caught Rinoa's tense anticipation of where his next kiss would be and instead shifted his position to her inner thigh, just above the knee.

"What do you mean….. ah…" Rinoa gasped as Squall nipped her gently there. She suddenly found it hard to breathe, hard to focus as he continued his assault.

Nibbling his way up her inner thigh, Squall sent, _"Blood pressure, dear. I need blood pressure for everything to work right, and weightlessness sort of messes with it. The last thing I wanted was to disappoint you. Besides that, crashing into a bulkhead or braining myself on the ceiling really didn't appeal to me much either."_

Rinoa by now was writhing, breathing in short gasps as Squall's lips, hands and tongue tortured the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. She was beyond words, but Squall could feel her need.

_"Oh, please… please…"_ She could barely articulate what she wanted, and needed, but Squall knew and finally sent her into paroxysms of pleasure as he took the tiny nub at her core, teasing it with his tongue before he sucked on it, hard. Rinoa cried out and shuddered, fisting her hands in Squall's hair as she lost control and came apart completely. Squall gasped and trembled as it fed back into him, nearly sending him over the edge himself.

In fact, he had to back off for a moment just to catch his breath and reassert his control before he finally let his passion off the leash.

It made him almost rough as he entered her in a single, hard thrust, dragging a deep moan from her. She surrounded him as he moved, arms and legs wrapped around him, nails raking his back as he melded his body, mind and heart with her.

Their hearts both pounded in sympathy as they both struggled for breath, Squall bringing Rinoa with him as he gave himself up to the dark tide of passion that swept them along. He could feel the power building between them as it always did, their energies surging and retreating with his movements.

The golden fire flared in Rinoa's eyes again as he loved her, and it grew brighter as they drew closer to completion. The tension coiled within them to a nearly painful breaking point, and Squall ruthlessly pushed past it, taking her to a place neither had been before.

This time, when the tension was released in a quaking climax, a surge of power went with it and Squall gasped for air as his own release was triggered by the feedback. Not only of Rinoa's orgasm, but of the power that came with it, both drawing from and feeding into him. He collapsed on top of her, trembling right along with her, fighting for air in a fog of incandescent light that emanated from the woman in his arms.

Squall gradually became aware of that light, of the spectral wings that spread wide from Rinoa's shoulders, and of the fact that the both of them were floating several feet above the bed.

"We're…. floating." Squall said breathlessly.

"We are?" Rinoa asked. Squall nodded.

"I felt that release of power… when we…you know… I didn't know it would randomly cast a float spell…" Rinoa said, stroking Squall's hair as he laid his head on her breast, his breathing and thudding heart quieting down gradually.

"This wasn't intentional?" He asked, closing his eyes, fatigue dragging at him.

"No. Not consciously anyway." Rinoa said, lightly stroking her hand down his back.

"I told you about my fantasy, maybe that was in the back of your mind… " Squall said.

"Yeah, I think it was." Rinoa said.

Squall wrapped his arms completely around her, stroking down her back, smiling. Opening his eyes, he craned his neck, looking over Rinoa's shoulder down to the bed below them. Then he pressed down with his hand underneath them experimentally, feeling nothing but air.

"Weird. What's it feel like?" Squall asked, curiously.

Rinoa shrugged, "Just floating in the air. You've had float cast on you before."

"Yeah… but not like this." He said, then yawned.

Closing his eyes again, he said, "I'd move but I'm afraid I'll fall off."

Rinoa laughed softly at the image that gave her, "A-plus for performance and technique, D-minus for the dismount, huh?"

Squall chuckled, "Exactly."

_"A-plus for performance and technique? I'm flattered."_ Squall sent, smiling.

_"You always bring your 'A' game, but this time you've outdone yourself."_ Rinoa confirmed. She caught her breath as Squall shifted, withdrawing himself from her, her sensitized flesh sending a delicious frisson up her spine at the slightest touch. Squall made a small sound deep in his throat as the sensation was transmitted to him through their link.

Squall shifted again, idly caressing Rinoa's smooth skin while dropping soft kisses to her neck and shoulders, finishing with a lingering kiss to her lips. The passion between them was still there, quiet and sated, but ready to roar to life again when they were both ready for it.

For the moment however, sleep beckoned and Squall found it more and more difficult to resist its lure. Rinoa's fingers combed through his hair, further relaxing him.

Hovering on the edge of sleep, Squall sent, _"are you comfortable? Maybe you should cast dispel so we can go to bed."_

_"I'm fine, but I do need to get up for a minute."_ Rinoa sent, and Squall sensed the reason and tightened his arms around her briefly as she cast dispel and they gradually drifted back to the bed.

Squall moved off of Rinoa, kissing her lightly before pulling the covers back in preparation for bed. Rinoa got up and disappeared into the bathroom briefly to make use of the facilities. When she'd finished, Squall did the same thing.

Finally they both snuggled together cozily in the bed, face to face.

"Perfect day." Squall whispered, hugging Rinoa close and giving her another kiss.

"Absolutely." She smiled, then added, "This is pretty awesome, floating around up here."

"Yeah," Squall sighed, moving onto his back and pulling Rinoa close, stroking her hair, adding, " we've got two whole weeks to do whatever we want. We can stay up here or go pretty much anywhere you want to go."

"We could go to our flower field." Rinoa suggested, lightly running her hand over Squall's belly and chest. His mind relaxed further and Rinoa could feel him beginning to slide into sleep. She let him feel and hear her thoughts about the day and about him, and smiled at his appreciative response.

"We could. Maybe that'll be next on the list. We should probably do something other than have sex for the next two weeks, although I'm certainly not opposed if that's all you want to do…" Squall murmured, yawning quietly.

Rinoa smiled, thinking, _"When did you become such a hedonist?"_

_"When I met you. It's your fault you know, all of this. Me falling in love with you, us getting married…me becoming seriously addicted to your body…. you made me a hedonist."_ Squall sent.

_"Did not. How do you explain your fascination with leather and silk? I don't make you wear that silk shirt you like so much…"_ Rinoa said, tickling him lightly.

_"Do too. I know how much you like to see me in it."_ Squall teased her.

_"And I know how much you like the way silk feels against your skin. I also know how much you like the smell of leather."_ Rinoa sent, amused.

_"You like it just as much."_ Squall replied. Rinoa agreed, not bothering to contest him on that point. Nobody wore leather better than Squall did, in Rinoa's opinion.

In all honesty, Squall wasn't actually a hedonist, or sensualist, not in the classic definition of those terms. The pursuit of pleasure was not the main focus of his life; he had far too many other things to do. But, in the sense that he was aware of and attentive to all of his senses; touch, taste, scent, sound, and sight along with the still new mental senses that he enjoyed with Rinoa, he could be considered one.

Yawning again, Squall stretched and settled into a comfortable position, still as close as possible to Rinoa's body, arm still around her. Rinoa felt his mind settle into sleep, his calm, relaxed state transmitting to her. She fell asleep shortly afterward.

***********************************************************************************************************************

The sudden roar of the Ragnarok's engines startled the guests still dancing and socializing at the wedding reception, making all of them pause and gaze upward as the great airship soared overhead.

Irvine, watching the ship fly away, chuckled to himself, saying, "sneaky bastard."

"How'd he get out? Did you even see him leave?" Selphie asked him. Irvine shook his head.

"You should know by now, nobody does stealth better than Squall does. He obviously found an alternative exit." Irvine said.

"Darn, now we won't know who gets married next. Rinoa never got around to tossing the bouquet." Selphie sighed.

"I guess fate will have to decide that. Are you taking care of Angelo for them?" Irvine asked. Selphie nodded. Irvine had caught up with her next to the buffet table; glass of champagne in hand and a lost look on her face. He had thought she was seeing someone, but the whole evening, while she'd been dancing and socializing, she didn't seem to be with anyone specific.

Likewise with Irvine; though his reasoning was somewhat different. Taking a date to a wedding tended to give them…. _ideas_. Ideas Irvine wasn't ready to entertain or deal with.

Although… studying how beautiful Selphie looked in the bridesmaid's dress she was wearing, Irvine thought that he might be willing to consider…. whatever.

Sighing, Irvine nodded to the gift-laden table and asked, "What are we going to do with all of _that_?"

"I've got the keycard to Rinoa's old room, we'll put them in there for safekeeping until they get back. Want to help me?" Selphie asked.

"Sure. Toting all that's gonna take the rest of the night though. Wanna dance first?" Irvine asked.

Selphie smiled. Seeing him looking so dashing in his tuxedo had seriously tested Selphie, and she'd done her best to avoid him, dancing and circulating throughout the reception. She hadn't told Rinoa but her relationship with the Trabian transfer, Brennan, had imploded a week ago. She'd been so busy helping Rinoa with the wedding she hadn't been able to even think about it. Now that everything was completed, she realized that Brennan's absence hadn't impacted her as much as she thought it would.

Not nearly as much as Irvine's did.

It had hurt, losing him. She didn't realize how much a part of her life he'd become, how much a part of it he'd _always_ been. She had to be honest with herself; she still loved him. She'd never _stopped_ loving him. She didn't even remember why they parted ways all those months ago, but maybe, now that their friends were finally married and things had settled down, maybe they could figure out where they went wrong and try again.

One thing Selphie knew for certain however; much as she hated it, she had to work with Irvine's nature and learn to either live with it or…. Give him a reason to try and change it himself.

But, she had to take the first step. He'd given her an opening; she only had to walk through.

Taking his hand, she answered, "I'd love to."

************************************************************************************************************************

Rinoa yawned and stretched, warm and content with Squall's body close against hers, his arm draped limply across her abdomen. He lay on his stomach, face turned toward hers on the pillow, sleeping soundly still.

She studied him as he slept. Her husband. So beautiful in repose he made her heart hurt. She was glad that she'd taken the time, and learned the patience he'd needed for her to have with him. It had been a slow, slow process to get to this point, not unlike taming a feral cat… or a lion.

Indeed, his behavior had been very similar. Aloof, wary, shy of physical contact, and apt to strike out if cornered. There were times that Rinoa had despaired of ever getting him to even tolerate her presence, much less _like_ her. Then gradually he grew used to her being around, tolerance became acceptance, acceptance became interest, and finally interest became love.

And it was all worth it in the end, Rinoa knew that without a shadow of doubt.

It had been a pleasant surprise to find that his cool, aloof exterior hid a passionate lover, one who, with a little encouragement, had even managed unexpected flashes of romance.

He wasn't perfect, Rinoa was aware of that, and had accepted his flaws. She hoped that he had done the same with her, for she was aware of her own flaws as well.

Stroking his arm slowly, Rinoa couldn't help feeling extraordinarily lucky that she'd finally won his heart. Knowing through their bond how very deeply he loved her was humbling, and it made Rinoa strive to be worthy of it.

He took a deep breath and his arm tightened around her, as always, awakening at her light touch. Rinoa rolled onto her side, facing him, letting her hand travel slowly from his buttocks up his back, pulling herself flush against him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and Rinoa smiled, content to lose herself in the turquoise depths.

"Morning," He whispered softly, stroking his hand up her back. Rinoa could already tell, from the physical evidence pressing against her as well as what she was receiving from Squall mentally, that he was already feeling amorous.

"Is it? I can't tell." Rinoa murmured back.

Squall checked his watch briefly and said, "well, its morning in Balamb anyway." He tightened his arms around her and kissed her.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

Rinoa smiled, "wonderfully. And you?"

"The same. I had an odd dream about taming lions and floating on angel's wings, but other than that, I slept very well. Of course," he kissed her softly, savoring the feel of her lips, letting his desire feed into Rinoa before continuing huskily, "I always do when you're in my arms."

Rinoa laughed softly, saying, "Thank you. The odd dreams however are probably my fault." Squall moved and settled himself comfortably on top of Rinoa, idly dropping soft kisses on her neck and cheek. She felt the passion rising between them again as he caressed her.

"How so?" he asked between kisses, moving down her chest.

"I was thinking about how getting to know you was like taming a wild animal." She whispered, breath starting to come short as her body responded to her husband's touch.

She gasped as he fondled one breast while kissing and teasing the other with his tongue. Then he nipped it sharply, soothing the brief hurt with more kisses.

"Who says I'm _tamed_?" Squall growled, kissing Rinoa deeply, swallowing her moan as he entered her.

_"Oh. My mistake..."_ Rinoa managed, unable to speak now as her body was awash in the sensations bombarding her.

She gave herself up to what she felt from Squall, receiving the sensations he was experiencing as well as sending her own back to him. It never got old, this sharing. Rinoa suspected that it never would. It was always different, each and every time.

Rinoa felt it again, the rising power, deep and rich, brought on by their shared passion. She locked her arms and legs around him, digging deep with her nails and holding on as they rode the tide together.

Watching her as they made love, Squall saw the golden light begin to flare in her eyes and he sent his fierce joy that he could do that for her, both giving her his power and receiving it back from her.

As their mutual tension mounted toward their release, Squall sent, _"Come on Angel, let's fly together. Spread your wings…"_

_"Hold on tight…"_ Rinoa sent, and then cried out, as the tension broke free, shuddering as her climax rocked her, her power roaring forth in a burst of light. Squall's release followed on its heels in a final hard thrust, spilling both his seed and his power into her, adding to the spell.

Incandescent angel's wings spread wide from Rinoa's shoulders once again as they soared together upon the wings of the spell cast from their joining.

They simply floated together, hearts beating together, listening to each others breath. Rinoa stroked her hands up and down Squall's back, letting him feel how very much she loved him.

Squall responded in kind, wordlessly, with soft, gentle kisses, light touches on her sensitized skin, and the emotions he felt.

_"I love you Rinoa."_ He sent.

_"I love you too."_ Rinoa responded, smiling at the happy, smug, sated feelings Squall was sending out. Feelings that echoed hers.

She knew from him that he didn't regret marrying her, and she didn't regret it either. It was the first day of the rest of their lives together, and Rinoa for one was looking forward to soaring with her husband every day. Soaring together on the power of love.

Flying on angel's wings.


End file.
